you discuss making sure your teams have the freedom to make strategic changes to
the plan if needed what if you're developing a system with
your team and you begin to get pushback from them before you feel the core
values are established so this is a really good question once again you
start coming up with your plan and you're already starting get some
pushback from the boys on what it is well what you do listen to them listen
to them why are they pushing back you know I mean why are they pushing back
maybe they have some good points is that possible
maybe you're a little bit off base on the plan that you're coming up with or
the strategy that you're coming up with maybe you're not of course that's always
possible - maybe they're wrong and you're right but hear them out you know
if I say hey we're going to hit the target from this direction here and my
team disagrees with what I'm saying or why are they disagree what's what's the
reason for that you know how do they think we should do it - II think we
should come in from the from the south and I think we should come from the
north why do they think that now if I know something is right and I am right
then guess what I can explain it to them and they'll say oh Jocko we didn't know
that we didn't know that there was defenses that we hadn't been told about
to the south and why that's why we should come in to the north or we didn't
know that the Sun would be bad our back from the north and that's why we didn't
know that at the time so you're right now if I can't explain it to them
if I can't give them a reason why my strategy or my plan is better then
there's something wrong with my plan or there's something wrong with my ability
to explain it to them right so if you're doing the right things for the right
reasons you'll be able to convince your team of the strategy or of the plan and
if you can't it's a hint that maybe you need to adapt your strategy or maybe you
need to adapt your plan now be advised this is not easy this is not easy to do
first of all you have to get your ego in check right because you think you've
come up with the plan and you think it's the master
answer you you you have to put your ego in check secondly you might actually
have the best plan but maybe you don't have the ability to articulate the
nuances of the plan and so your guys you get a guy that's a really articulate guy
that's arguing with you on his plan and he's actually winning the argument even
though your plan might be better that's a that's a tough situation to be in so
that means you've got to really get in the weeds now one thing that you could
do in that situation they say hey I'm in charge shut up listen to me and again
this might be a situation where you're right and they're wrong but if you can't
articulate that properly and now you only way to do it is to pull rank on
them hey you're gonna go backwards right you're gonna go backwards so you have to
be very careful that again this is why it's important to to have good command
of the English language that's why it's important to listen that's why it's
important to take people's ideas and that's the thing with being a leader
okay have an open mind have open ears listen
communicate and lead your team not by rank right but by being able to to
discern and uncover and mold and shape the best possible plan and the best
possible strategy by and through understanding everyone's perspectives
and ideas and then taking all those perspectives and all those ideas and
coordinating them into a unified thought that leads the team to victory
that is hard that is hard to do yeah but the minute again the minute that I'm
telling somebody hey no just do it my way I know that there's there's
something wrong here either I'm not articulating right which
means I should take the time because if clem right and you're wrong we should be
able to get there too where you see that yeah we
should be able to get there we could also get to a point where at six and
one-half dozen the other yeah right we could get to that point too and at that
point you know what I'm gonna do you know what I'm gonna do I'm gonna use
your plan if it's six 1/2 does the other I'm going to use your plan yeah
echo says come in from the north I say coming from the west we look at the pros
and cons of each I'm gonna go with your plan would you want to come in from the
West yeah okay if it's if it's 50/50 I'm
gonna go with your plan I'm gonna give it to you and give you the ownership
that's what I'm gonna do yes even I'll take it even 6040 I'm probably gonna
give it to you we get to you know 70/30 now you're gonna see it you're going to
see the light yeah if you have any brain now you could also be an egomaniac right
who said my way my way my way now we've got to break through that how do we do
that it's not by attacking your plan which you're going to defend because
you're an egomaniac instead I'm gonna say well tell me the benefits of your
plan let's weigh it out between your plan and my plan maybe we adapt your
plan a little bit I like what you did here I see where you're coming from
that's a really good point I didn't think of that but also we need to
consider this that I didn't you know we we didn't know before so now we can
adjust so those the things that are hard those are the things that are hard about
being a leader but the best thing you can do open your mind open your ears
listen to what people are saying take it on board if their plan is better than
yours great use it if it's not better than yours okay articulate the reasons
why have the conversations with them don't be scared to slick move I didn't
think of that come on you gotta build up their ego if
they got the big ego we're gonna flank them yeah yeah that's good get other
people's perspectives because it can seem like a 50/50 or it can seem like
60/40 you know but it can also seem like a 64 or 70/30 the Year plan is better
but to them 70/30 their funds got it because of their perspective let's say
they there's rats drawn down this trail yeah I don't like rats but you
if you didn't know that you know you're like France who cares kind of thing yep
dang really resent dogs would be a better thing sure to say rats aren't
going to interfere with your mission dogs start barking that maybe they had
they had somebody they read an Intel report that said there was a bunch of
dogs up in this this you know residents to the north so we want to come in from
the West I didn't know that I didn't do goodness
so now it's easy easy thing to convince me of right but all we have to do is
have the conversation yeah understand the perspective walk and communicate
those dogs with rabies put your egos in check yeah
or snakes by the way if you're Indiana Jones or something