Extreme Ownership

Learn how to apply leadership lessons from military combat to the battlefield of business.

Former Navy SEAL officers Jocko Willink and Leif Babin learned the toughest leadership lessons, with real lives at stake, on one of the most dangerous battlefields out there. As leaders of SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser, they accomplished the impossible in the middle of the Iraq War: helping US forces secure the violent, insurgent-held city of Ramadi.

In Extreme Ownership, Willink and Babin draw on their firsthand experience of heroism, hard-won victories, and the harsh lessons they learned in combat to give listeners insight into the mission and life of a leader. Alternating between scenes from battle and practical lessons for any field, the authors take you through what it means to be a strong, commanding, and effective leader. In their followup, The Dichotomy of Leadership, Willink and Babin explain the power of recognizing the fine line leaders must walk, balancing between leading and following, and being aggressive and prudent.

Narrated by Willink and Babin themselves, the companion volumes let you follow the journey these two men experienced in their own words and voices. They bring authenticity and immediacy to each gripping scenario, having experienced the reality in their own lives.

After their return from the Iraq War, Willink and Babin realized that they could impart what they had learned to others in leadership positions, first training new Navy SEALs and then moving into the business world. With plenty of real-world experience to draw on, the two veterans never lacked for inspiration in their work, coaching leaders in countless industries.