Extreme Ownership
Jocko Willink and Leif Babin served together in SEAL Task Unit Bruiser, the most highly decorated Special Operations unit from the war in Iraq. Through difficult months of sustained combat, Jocko, Leif and their SEAL brothers learned that leadership -- at every level -- is the most important thing on the battlefield. They started Echelon Front to teach these same leadership principles to companies across industries throughout the business world that want to build their own high-performance, winning teams. This book explains the SEAL leadership concepts crucial to accomplishing the most difficult missions in combat and how to apply them to any group, team, or organization. It provides the reader with Jocko and Leif's formula for success: the mindset and guiding principles that enable SEAL combat units to achieve extraordinary results. It demonstrates how to apply these directly to business and life to likewise achieve victory.
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What you might want to know about Extreme Ownership
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Former SEAL officers Jocko Willink and Leif Babin draw on their leadership of Task Unit Bruiser in Ramadi, Iraq, to lay out twelve combat-tested leadership principles, each tied to a business case study.
Extreme Ownership was written by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, both former Navy SEAL officers. Published in 2015, the book applies SEAL leadership principles to business and management.
Yes. Jocko Willink and Leif Babin published The Dichotomy of Leadership in 2018 as a follow-up. It addresses tensions in their original framework, like leading vs. following or planning vs. flexibility.
Extreme Ownership is 384 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Extreme Ownership takes most readers 6 to 8 hours to finish.
Extreme Ownership is a standalone novel by Jocko Willink, not part of a series.
Extreme Ownership is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.