Rating: 
Summary: Leaders can be made
Review: As a lead for a software development team, this book was remarkable in its discussion of what makes a good team, be it a seal team or team creating software. Well written without all the jargon and over analysis found in most leadership books.
Rating:
Summary: Be All You Can Be!
Review: As a mid-level exec., I can honestly say that Cannon and Cannon have truly raised the bar with their strategies on leadership, boosting morale and overall organizational success. The concepts and techniques brought about in Navy SEALS are clear, concise and poignant. The vivid, real-life business and military tales set this book apart from the field. A must-read!!
Rating:
Summary: Cuts To The Chase
Review: At last, a no-nonsense book that tells it like it is and cuts through the BS. About time someone wrote about what really goes on in the business world, and gives you ideas on how to improve things that are real, implementable, and make sense.Best of all, it supports every idea with some real-world situations that rock. It's definately something I'll read a few times.
Rating:
Summary: Military Leadership Applied to Business
Review: I chose to buy and read this book because one of its authors was a Navy SEAL, and it promised to highlight military leadership lessons from a SEAL perspective. I soon discovered an outstandingly balanced and informative organizational leadership book that took an honest military leadership perspective and effectively applied it directly and indirectly to civilian business environments. This real-world leadership book should appeal to any military-related person and anyone interested in better understanding the military and business leadership connection. This book was written by a brother duo, one a successful corporate executive and the other an experienced SEAL officer. In their introduction, they accurately assessed what made the book stand apart from other leadership books I have read: "Be forewarned: This book does not pay homage to godlike CEOs, legendary generals, and other corporate cult figures. It is our view that masterful leadership and effective teams, not colorful mavericks, produce success...Every great leader has a great team above, around, and behind him or her...[The book is] a collection of lessons from SEAL training and SEAL operations that have been tested in the business world." The book is broken down into six chapters (Setting Goals, Organization-Create Structure or Fight Alone, Leadership-The Hardest Easy Thing, The Thundering Herd, Building a Thundering Herd, and Now Maintain Your Momentum), with embedded lessons related to each chapter title. Each lesson starts with a SEAL mission (a SEAL team sea-story or experience) and ends with a suggested business take-away. The lessons stimulated thought and offered ideas for improving individual and organizational leadership. The authors left it to the readers to decide which lessons applied to their situations and then challenged them to apply those lessons. The authors' candid perspectives and observations were refreshing and were reflected in their equally straightforward lessons. A sampling of the authors' colorful lessons includes: *Avoid creating a capability and then looking for a mission to justify it
*Build boundaries to prevent infighting and cannibalism
*If you think no one else can replace you, you're an egotistical S.O.B. who's failed
*There are probably good reasons why your marching orders seem screwed up
*Identify your lead dogs, feed them well, and build a pack around them
*If you need to scream, you need to practice The team-building and teamwork concepts emphasized in this book apply to military and business leaders and organizations. If you want time-tested ideas to improve your leadership, or your organization's effectiveness, then you should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Military Leadership Applied to Business
Review: I chose to buy and read this book because one of its authors was a Navy SEAL, and it promised to highlight military leadership lessons from a SEAL perspective. I soon discovered an outstandingly balanced and informative organizational leadership book that took an honest military leadership perspective and effectively applied it directly and indirectly to civilian business environments. This real-world leadership book should appeal to any military-related person and anyone interested in better understanding the military and business leadership connection. This book was written by a brother duo, one a successful corporate executive and the other an experienced SEAL officer. In their introduction, they accurately assessed what made the book stand apart from other leadership books I have read: "Be forewarned: This book does not pay homage to godlike CEOs, legendary generals, and other corporate cult figures. It is our view that masterful leadership and effective teams, not colorful mavericks, produce success...Every great leader has a great team above, around, and behind him or her...[The book is] a collection of lessons from SEAL training and SEAL operations that have been tested in the business world." The book is broken down into six chapters (Setting Goals, Organization-Create Structure or Fight Alone, Leadership-The Hardest Easy Thing, The Thundering Herd, Building a Thundering Herd, and Now Maintain Your Momentum), with embedded lessons related to each chapter title. Each lesson starts with a SEAL mission (a SEAL team sea-story or experience) and ends with a suggested business take-away. The lessons stimulated thought and offered ideas for improving individual and organizational leadership. The authors left it to the readers to decide which lessons applied to their situations and then challenged them to apply those lessons. The authors' candid perspectives and observations were refreshing and were reflected in their equally straightforward lessons. A sampling of the authors' colorful lessons includes: *Avoid creating a capability and then looking for a mission to justify it
*Build boundaries to prevent infighting and cannibalism
*If you think no one else can replace you, you're an egotistical S.O.B. who's failed
*There are probably good reasons why your marching orders seem screwed up
*Identify your lead dogs, feed them well, and build a pack around them
*If you need to scream, you need to practice The team-building and teamwork concepts emphasized in this book apply to military and business leaders and organizations. If you want time-tested ideas to improve your leadership, or your organization's effectiveness, then you should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Finally...drop the feel good bs, and learn to actually LEAD
Review: I found this book to be extremely straight forward, simple to understand, useful, and applicable to a wide variety of of settings. Simply put, whether you lead from a board room or a locker room, you're spinning your wheels unless you understand and/or follow these basic leadership principles. I'm absolutely sick of wasting my time sitting in pointless meetings, and meandering around in circles with well-intentioned, but unfocused MANAGERS when what is really needed are LEADERS. This book uses time-tested (and battle-tested), proven approaches to define your mission, build a winning team that people are proud to be part of, and kick butt! The SEALS have been doing this since their inception, and it's just plain common sense to learn from their experience.
It's refreshing to finally read about the SEAL culture, and not be inundated with self flatuating hero worship. This book will help you build a winner...you can't lead from the rear!
Rating:
Summary: Finally...drop the feel good bs, and learn to actually LEAD
Review: I found this book to be extremely straight forward, simple to understand, useful, and applicable to a wide variety of of settings. Simply put, whether you lead from a board room or a locker room, you're spinning your wheels unless you understand and/or follow these basic leadership principles. I'm absolutely sick of wasting my time sitting in pointless meetings, and meandering around in circles with well-intentioned, but unfocused MANAGERS when what is really needed are LEADERS. This book uses time-tested (and battle-tested), proven approaches to define your mission, build a winning team that people are proud to be part of, and kick butt! The SEALS have been doing this since their inception, and it's just plain common sense to learn from their experience.
It's refreshing to finally read about the SEAL culture, and not be inundated with self flatuating hero worship. This book will help you build a winner...you can't lead from the rear!
Rating: 
Summary: Extraordinary Teams
Review: I liked the book. I think it hit the mark for it's intended audience. The lessons learned from the school of hard knocks are clear, simple, direct; very military at the front lines. Each point is illustraged with a war story from both the civilian and military perspective. Being ex-military I liked the war stories. The lessons are very useful, but like many books of its ilk, not new. The key lessons were learned and documented many years ago by the Greeks and Romans. I think the thing to keep in mind is that communication has not ocurred until both sides understand the message. In that line, I think this book does a very good job of describing key leadership traits and tools and introducing them to a new audience. The book is organized by chapters, and key points and illustrations within each. There are contradictions in the points that are not brought up or discussed. I think this is true due to the nature of human interaction and its complexities, that a tool or technique works until it doesn't. The key is for the leader to recognized the difference. The book is weak here, but I also think that is something better learned from experience. Some major take aways for me was the dicussion on organizational structure, the need to follow SOP, until there is a greater need to not, good leadership demands good followership, followers have major responsibilities towards their leaders (how and when to tell the boss the path we are following is wrong). For me this is not new, but it is great to be reminded of these things. This book is not the best I have read on the topic, but very useful for the key insights form practical life and death experience.
Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary Teams
Review: I liked the book. I think it hit the mark for it's intended audience. The lessons learned from the school of hard knocks are clear, simple, direct; very military at the front lines. Each point is illustraged with a war story from both the civilian and military perspective. Being ex-military I liked the war stories. The lessons are very useful, but like many books of its ilk, not new. The key lessons were learned and documented many years ago by the Greeks and Romans. I think the thing to keep in mind is that communication has not ocurred until both sides understand the message. In that line, I think this book does a very good job of describing key leadership traits and tools and introducing them to a new audience. The book is organized by chapters, and key points and illustrations within each. There are contradictions in the points that are not brought up or discussed. I think this is true due to the nature of human interaction and its complexities, that a tool or technique works until it doesn't. The key is for the leader to recognized the difference. The book is weak here, but I also think that is something better learned from experience. Some major take aways for me was the dicussion on organizational structure, the need to follow SOP, until there is a greater need to not, good leadership demands good followership, followers have major responsibilities towards their leaders (how and when to tell the boss the path we are following is wrong). For me this is not new, but it is great to be reminded of these things. This book is not the best I have read on the topic, but very useful for the key insights form practical life and death experience.
Rating: 
Summary: It's okay
Review: I was surprised at the high marks given. The book was okay at best.
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