Willink is leading a SEAL platoon on a targeted raid during his first deployment to Iraq.
Leaders and teams need to be able to look at disciplined structures as a framework, while maintaining their adaptability.īattle Story of Discipline Equals Freedom: Creating Order Out of Chaos However, leaders must be careful that their teams don’t become so rigid and stuck on the SOP that they lose that flexibility.
This is “discipline equals freedom” on a team level. And when things get confusing and chaotic - whether on the battlefield or in a business operation - everyone can fall back on the SOP. If the team needs to adjust a plan, disciplined SOPs make it possible to change that aspect of the plan without throwing the entire operation out of whack when everyone knows the procedure inside and out, it’s easy to explain which piece of it is changing and what is staying the same. When each team member knows her role and duties as well as the goal of the mission, she can quickly and easily adapt to changing circumstances without having to constantly get leaders’ approval (this is critical for Decentralized Command, as we talked about in Chapter 8). This also translates to a team setting: When a team implements disciplined SOPs, they have more freedom within those parameters. Willink explains that this was the only way to carve out time for anything - whether to study, clean, or stretch his muscles - in the tightly structured schedule of SEAL training. This is “discipline equals freedom” on a simple level. If you are strategic and deliberate, you can create a regimented approach that ultimately gives you more freedom.įor example, setting your alarm early (and having the discipline to get out of bed when it goes off) gives you more time and freedom to do the things you want to fit in your day. It seems counterintuitive that exercising discipline in turn gives you freedom, but, as with all of the dichotomies described above, this requires balance.
DISCIPLINE EQUALS FREEDOM QUTOES TRIAL
Like this article? Sign up for a free trial here. Shortform has the world's best summaries of books you should be reading. This article is an excerpt from the Shortform summary of "Extreme Ownership" by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin.
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