S34 E1: "Lead Like a Marine: Run Towards a Challenge, Assemble Your Fireteam, and Win Your Next Battle" by John Warren & John Thompson
Sep 25, 2023
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Marine veterans John Warren and John Thompson share their experiences and leadership principles in combat. They discuss valuing grit and potential, building resilient fireteams, and cross-training team members. The podcast also covers raising capital, building a strong team, and the qualities of successful leaders.
Valuing grit and potential over pedigree is a key aspect of successful leadership.
Building a team with killer performance, focus, clarity of purpose, commitment to the mission, and loyalty to one another is crucial for achieving success.
Deep dives
Principle 1: Do Everything for a Reason
In their book, Lead Like a Marine, John Warren and John Thompson highlight the first principle of doing everything for a reason. They emphasize the importance of using common sense and thinking logically in problem-solving. They share the example of their experience in starting Lima One Capital, a specialty mortgage company, where they learned to adhere to this principle. Even when advised to project modest growth, they confidently expressed their ambitious goals to billionaire William Erby. This honest approach impressed him, and he emphasized the importance of aiming higher. This anecdote underscores the value of doing everything for a reason and having a clear plan of action.
Principle 2: Build a Team of Killers
John Warren and John Thompson's second principle focuses on building a team of killers. They underline the importance of assembling a team with killer performance, focus, clarity of purpose, commitment to the mission, and loyalty to one another. The authors assert that strong core values, competence, and courage are essential traits of a good leader. They emphasize that leaders who lack these characteristics will inevitably fail. By highlighting the significance of building a team based on these principles, the authors emphasize the role of effective leadership in achieving success.
In 2006, John Warren and John Thompson led Marines into combat in the world’s most dangerous city: Ramadi, Iraq. In "Lead Like a Marine," Warren and Thompson lay out the simple, universal rules that helped them succeed, from valuing grit and potential over pedigree, to condensing large groups into resilient “fireteams,” to cross-training team members so that anyone can step up to the plate in a crisis.
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