Just finished reading Extreme Ownership and I’ve got to say, I’m a huge fan. The principles in this book, especially accountability and ownership, have completely changed the way I view life, leadership, and relationships.

One of the biggest takeaways for me was learning that growth really begins the moment you stop blaming circumstances, other people, or bad luck, and start taking responsibility for your outcomes. That mindset shift alone is powerful.

This isn’t just a book about business or leadership. It applies to everyday life, communication, discipline, personal growth, and becoming a better person overall.

Strong read. Highly recommend.

Even though I am well into my senior years my voracious reading passion is as strong as ever, especially if it has anything to do with the U.S. Navy SEALS. Whether it is their superior fitness programs, realistic combat techniques, great swimming methods, warrior philosophy or their fantastic leadership principles, I have attempted to read everything I could find about these Special Forces Warriors. This is why when I saw this fantastic 322-page hardcover edition of (Extreme Ownership: How the U.S. Navy SEALS lead and win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin) on Amazon I had to purchase it.

This is the kind of leadership book that once you begin to read it; it is difficult to put down. This book explains how the SEAL leadership training principles apply not just to combat situations, but these same rules apply to business success and just living a full and productive life.

The basic philosophical principle is simple really, but like everything in life, “the devil is in the details.” “Extreme ownership” as the combat experienced authors define it, is not making excuses and blaming mistakes made on everyone else, but taking full and complete responsibility when they are the assigned to lead their men and women.

I found it interesting in this book how some so-called business leaders seem to refuse to accept the “extreme ownership” philosophy and stubbornly kept blaming everything and everyone else. In my experience, as both a regular Navy veteran, and a retired law enforcement officer, good leaders lead from the front and take full responsibility for their decisions.

I love the way the authors provided examples taken from their actual combat experiences to show the importance of good leadership decisions, and they show how these very principles apply to business problems. The three parts in this excellent book covers the following: “Winning the war within, laws of combat, and sustaining victory.” There are also several very interesting color and black and white photographs included in this volume.

If you are willing to face reality when it comes to taking complete responsibility in your leadership role this is a book that should be your reference source. I have read numerous other books on leadership principles, and this is one of the best ones I have read in decades.

If you are blessed (or some might say cursed) with the responsibility of leading people, this book should be in your personal library as a reference and inspiring source.

Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Tactical Principles of the most effective Combative Systems).

Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win (New Edition) by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin is a powerful guide to leadership, drawing on the authors' experiences as U.S. Navy SEALs. The book is built around the core principle of "extreme ownership," where leaders take full responsibility for everything in their sphere of influence.

Willink and Babin skillfully connect battlefield lessons to business and life, offering practical strategies that can be applied in any leadership context. Each chapter pairs a real-life combat story with its corresponding business application, making the concepts both compelling and easy to understand.

The new edition adds even more depth, with additional insights and refined concepts that enhance the book's already robust content. Whether you're leading a team or looking to improve your personal accountability, Extreme Ownership provides actionable advice that can lead to transformative results.

This book is a must-read for anyone serious about becoming a better leader, with lessons that resonate far beyond the military.

A powerful leadership book that breaks down responsibility, accountability, and decision-making in a very straightforward way. The examples from Navy SEAL experiences make the lessons feel real and practical rather than theoretical, and the core message is consistent throughout: own everything in your environment, no exceptions.

What makes it especially useful is how applicable it is outside the military context. The principles translate directly into team leadership, operations, and everyday decision-making, helping shift mindset toward accountability and clarity under pressure. Overall, it’s a strong, no-nonsense leadership book that is easy to understand and impactful to apply in real situations. powerful leadership book that breaks down responsibility, accountability, and decision-making in a very straightforward way. The examples from Navy SEAL experiences make the lessons feel real and practical rather than theoretical, and the core message is consistent throughout: own everything in your environment, no exceptions.

What makes it especially useful is how applicable it is outside the military context. The principles translate directly into team leadership, operations, and everyday decision-making, helping shift mindset toward accountability and clarity under pressure. Overall, it’s a strong, no-nonsense leadership book that is easy to understand and impactful to apply in real situations.

Jocko & Leif offer a compelling, no-nonsense leadership approach in Extreme Ownership, based on their real-world combat experience as U.S. Navy SEAL officers. The book presents a powerful framework for embracing 100% ownership and accountability for the actions of your team, whether they result in success or failure (even if it means getting fired). They emphasize how to turn failures into growth rather than blaming yourself, others or any other external factors. They also describe how “the best leaders are not driven by ego or personal agendas [but] are simply focused on the mission and how to best accomplish it.”

Each chapter starts off with description of a real-world combat scenario followed by an explanation of “principle” i.e. what they learned / how their leadership developed as result of that scenario and ends with an “application to business” section in which Jocko or Leif explain how they helped company executive(s) tackle a similar leadership challenge in the corporate world (through their consulting business, Echelon Front).

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Always acknowledge mistakes and admit failures, take ownership & establish a game plan to WIN.

• “No bad teams, only bad leaders” because “leadership is the single greatest factor in any team’s performance [and] the leader’s attitude sets the tone for the entire team.”

• Check your ego; humble leadership builds trust. Be confident not cocky… nobody is too good to fail.

• Prioritize and execute through the fog of war to focus on the highest priority tasks (first) that maximize mission impact.

• Decentralized command – trust & empower junior leaders to make decisions and take ownership of those decisions. Allows senior leaders to focus on the big picture.

• Every team member must understand the commander’s intent, overall mission, and their role in it. They shouldn’t always be asking the why behind the team’s actions.

• “Remember: the enemy gets a vote.” Never take anything for granted or assume positive outcomes. Plan and prepare for contingencies.

• Leading UP and down the chain. If your team is not performing or your supervisor is not understanding, check yourself first. You are responsible for communicating simply, clearly and concisely to ensure they understand. Don’t expect people to read your mind.

Extreme Ownership is a must-read for anyone striving to become a more disciplined, decisive, and selfless leader who intends to maximize the potential of their team. Jocko & Leif’s straightforward advice and real-life examples make their book a valuable resource for leaders at all levels (in any industry).

Extreme Ownership is more than just a leadership book — it’s a mindset shift. Jocko Willink and Leif Babin use gripping, real-world combat experiences to teach core leadership principles that apply to any field, whether you're in business, management, or just trying to improve your personal discipline.

The core idea — that leaders must take full responsibility for everything in their world — is simple but incredibly powerful. Each chapter lays out a principle, backs it up with a real-life Navy SEAL story, and then breaks it down into practical, civilian applications. It's clear, structured, and highly motivational.

This book doesn’t sugarcoat anything. It’s about discipline, accountability, and making no excuses — and it’s a refreshing contrast to the fluff found in many business books.

Whether you're leading a team or leading yourself, this book delivers lessons that stick. A must-read for anyone serious about stepping up and taking control of their outcomes.

This book is awesome. I like how the lessons taught are thru examples or story telling. I believe everyone who is leading a team or wanting to get in the position of leadership should read tbis book. The message is really easy to get but it really hammers it in. As a leader this has really helped me relay the message.

Great read!

Extreme Ownership is a good look in the mirror to live and lead at the highest level. It contains war stories with leadership lessons and I have newfound respect for Navy Seals. It checks off on what I count as a good book: vivid imagery, humorous, raises goosebumps, brings tears, and practical for livelihood. On the final analysis, it’s not written by a Hemingway but it does come from the heat of experience. It works because it’s real.

The book harps the tune "it's all about the mission”. You got to know why you're in it to begin with, believe in it fully, and continually execute on it. That’s what a leader does. There are many books that emphasize this point of “moving with a purpose” and Extreme Ownership just does it in a raw fashion within the context of war. In the battle field, making the right decision moment by moment is highly crucial. One is constantly flirting with defeat and running the risk of losing life or limb. Time is of the essence. Navy SEALS blend a deep brotherhood with creative and methodical action which enabled them to accomplish their intense missions in Iraq.

“Effective leaders lead successful teams that accomplish their mission and win. Ineffective leaders do not.” A leader is the true believer of the team’s mission while trusting the troops to deliver on their parts. Micromanaging takes away from focus on the bigger picture, which the leader is trusted to keep and communicate. The book presses the leader to simply maintain the strategic picture which enables others to take ownership and swiftly act on what is immediate. When everyone in a team practices extreme ownership, trust form and it widens the span of control. With markets in flux, jobs at risk, and competitors near, trust is paramount to remain flexible, adaptable, and efficient.

This book is written with a sense of urgency, applying the principles of combat to organizational issues. The process invites us to lay it all on the table and examine what’s real and what is not, that is what adds value to mission success and what does not. The ensuing plan may change but the purpose remains the same.

What a winner of a book, if you’re leading teams - you HAVE to get it

Lo vi de la platica en TED y de ahi lo compre, de los mejores libros sobre liderazgo

Note:

Although this book is written by two former U.S. Navy seals, it is not a war memoir. Rather, it is a how-to-lead manifesto, which draws on the lessons from the authors' experiences in combat situations and shows their applicability in non-military scenarios.

Review:

The structure of this book, whereby each chapter is divided into three parts (battlefield scenario; principle; applicability) allows the authors to convey their ideas clearly and effectively. The message in each chapter is simple, yet crucial for any individual, team, or organisation that wishes to optimise their performance through a set of principles that are applicable to leadership at all levels - from the most senior down to the most junior.

Not only is it well written, succinct and engaging, but more importantly, the lessons conveyed throughout the book are of tremendous value to anyone with open ears. Having come across one of the co-authors on TED and Youtube, I had already familiarised myself with some of the book's central tenets before buying it. I can attest that whenever I have implemented the concept of extreme ownership, I have seen dramatic improvements across the board - both in my personal and professional life.

What I like:

The authors do a superb job of coming across as relatable, managing to steer away from a "back in my day" tone, which would have been tempting for someone like me, had I seen and done as much they have. The tone is always humble, as they are open about their own failures in leadership, and how it was those failures that taught them the toughest lessons. At times, the book reads like advice from a caring brother, rather than an overbearing uncle, and that makes it eminently more readable and enjoyable for a wider readership. This point may seem redundant to anyone already familiar with the authors - both of whom always carry themselves with utmost humility despite their wealth of experience - but I thought it worth pointing out in case anyone new to them is wondering about the tone of the book.

How it's helped me:

Although the "application to business" section in each chapter would seem to indicate that the book is primarily pitched to the business world, I have found equal - if not superior - use of its principles in my own personal life. It has forced me to honestly confront many of my own entrenched attitudes, and to reasses failures I had previously blamed on other people as my own. As a former assistant manager at a school that closed down on my watch, I know all too well the potential consequences of poor leadership, and of failing to adopt and implement the principle of extreme ownership. This book has helped me shine a light on those mistakes, and encouraged me to work towards avoiding the shortsightedness and blame-shifting that led to those past failures.

Conclusion:

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who is thinking of buying it - either for yourself or as a gift. I wish I'd read it ten years ago, as it would have saved me a lot of headaches. Its message is empowering, and serves as a tool for anyone ready to take ownership of his of her own shortcomings and demand higher standards of oneself. I would even go as far as saying that any organisation - be it governmental, sporting, entrepreneurial or otherwise - that implements the principles of this book would surely see marked improvements in all but the most exceptional cases.

As a side note:

I would like to say that this book has completely changed my view of the US military. Having grown up during the height of the disenchantment with the Iraq war, I became used to negative reports of misconduct by US troops in the media and accepted a general view of them as a self-appointed, shoot-from-the-hip Wild West cowboy force.

Although it may not have been the authors' intended goal, this book has shown me how deeply wrong that view was. The professionalism, bravery and sacrifice (not to mention the painstaking commitment to minimising Iraqi army and civilian casualties, and to complying with ethical rules of engagement at risk of endangering their own lives) the troops displayed is second to none, and deserves far more coverage and recognition than the media has provided.

This is not a comment on the Iraq war debate at large, but an honest assessment of the way the troops who risked their lives for their Iraqi brothers and sisters conducted themselves. I now know of situations where American troops led operations in which they threw themselves at enemy fire just to save the very Iraqi forces who had often desserted them and shot at their American brothers. Furthermore, though this commitment to the safety of Iraqis was carried out at the individual level, its implementation was institutional - saying as much of the individual troops as it does of the military as a whole. This, rather than the message that the authors wished to impart, was perhaps the most valuable lesson I drew from this book; and for that alone, I recommend it to anyone who may hold an unfair view of the US military, just as I once did.

I hope this is one small step towards correcting for the disservice we have done these soldiers by failing to recognise the sacrifices they made to protect the people who now live under the constant terror of the black flag of ISIS. For all their efforts, and as a non-American, I wish to sincerely thank the authors. We are forever in your debt.

Jocko Willink and Leif Babin give in this book solid and easy to understand principles of leadership. Each chapter begin with a war story to illustrate the principle, a description of the principle and an application to the business world. Those principles even if they may seem simple are not easy to implement, they make sur we understand that. 

Extreme Ownership es un libro directo y práctico sobre liderazgo basado en una idea clave: el líder es responsable de todo, sin excusas.

Con ejemplos reales y aplicables al trabajo y a la vida diaria, muestra la importancia de la disciplina, la comunicación clara y liderar con el ejemplo.