At the end of the day the buck stops at you!!!

The 5 things I learned from the most respected US Navy Seal in History Jocko Willink (The film “Sniper” was based on the sniper in his unit).

I wanted to share with you a really cool book that I have been reading about one of the most decorated warriors to be part of the US Military machine – Jocko Willink.

I mean this man is a warrior

He has been involved in major conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and has been responsible for making a major difference in the offensive to defeat some of the toughest enemies on the planet. Now I’m not into conflict, however, I can appreciate the mastery and dedication of people who are brave enough to do the unthinkable and protect those who can’t protect themselves and aim to bring peace to the world.

So for me, it’s in the lessons that Jocko shares is the real gold or the victory so to speak. I have picked the 5 top lessons that I believe are relevant to me and believe that these can be applied straight to your business and life.

Here you go:

1. Admit and own mistakes and develop a plan to overcome them and blame no one else

To me, this sounds like you need to take responsibility no matter what. I mean at the end of the day in business and in life the “buck stops at you”. No matter who or what or why you are the business owner and you get the final say. Now I know some people have been hard done by (me inclusive) but taking accountability is also internal accountability and rather than blame, simply ask yourself how long you will remain in that state (being a victim) and make the decision to change.Like Nike says…Just do it !!  

2. There are no bad teams, only bad leaders

I love this nugget of gold. Anyone that employs staff or has clients that they interact with, their business can take a lot out of this. See too often I hear business owners complain about their staff or clients that they are lazy and that they want everything for nothing or the saying “if you want a job done do it yourself”. To me what it says is that either A I don’t want to do the work that I delegate to others and I don’t really want to lead by example. See if you are the leader of your business, whether you are leading your employees OR leading your clients by serving them you now have a responsibility. Which in many ways changes the game and makes you play at a better level. Remember people are always looking for guidance, inspiration, and service with a smile.

3. Control your own Ego

So many times we as business owners fall into the trap of reacting to stuff that happens around us which often could have been avoided if we could have kept our “ego” in check. Now Ego is tough to control as it’s meant to give you that surge of exaggerated stubbornness, the feeling that backing down is not an option. See it’s intertwined with who and what you believe you are as a person, so controlling and or trying to alter the way the “ego” feels can be tough. I think raising your awareness to recognise when you are feeling that the ego is taking over the game and then working on keeping it in check through clever self-analysis is critical. The learning here is to not change too quickly and to think, take a step back and see the bigger picture before you react. Keeping your ego in check can make the game of business so much easier. Calculated, decision making trumps seat of the pants reactions all day long.

4. Lead UP the command – Don’t ask your leader what you should do, tell them what you are going to do

Working with so many of you who own and operate businesses the difficulty lies in employing personnel that may not be capable of making a decision on their own and work autonomously when you need them to do. I think the main reason is that they haven’t been trained in that environment. So expecting your employees to conduct themselves in a super proactive way by being engaged and rip rearing ready to go is a little nuts in itself…right? What I’m saying here is that training your staff to think for themselves, so they can have a voice is where the game needs to be at. The more you empower your staff the better they will handle the task. Often it’s a simple lack of communication or a fear that they may say or do something wrong is the simple reason that they don’t take charge and Lead UP as Jocko shares. Make it easy for your employees to have a voice and to make a decision by setting up correct channels of communications.

5. Discipline yourself

Having come from martial arts background for over 9 years and being in the wellness industry for 7 years I can understand the art of discipline …yes it is an art form. It’s not easy to be committed and to be disciplined in any endeavor you chose. It’s interesting however when you set your mind to something and have a bigger goal your opportunity to carry out repetitive tasks on a daily basis becomes much easier. Let me give you an example: I trained literally every day when I was practicing Wing Chun Kung Fu and the reason for the discipline is I set myself the goal of daily practice and the goal of becoming a black belt within 5 years. Every practice session I visualised my sifu (instructor) handing over my black belt in front of the class. So the best way is for you to pick a discipline that you want to work on and visualise the goal and start … that’s right, simply start it. It’s the first step that counts!!