Last week, I found myself speaking to a group of graduate students, dispensing a few timeless leadership lessons weaved in and around a handful of stories. This particular group was comprised of students pursuing careers in marketing and communication, and the program itself is a magnet for some of the most talented and insightful people in the field. While the focus of my comments targeted how to leverage their skills to lead up, I narrowed the aperture to address some of the more relevant lessons from my time leading a strategic communications team.
After some brief introductory comments, I launched directly into my first lesson: break it down Barney-style (complete with a cartoon of someone struggling to put on a Barney costume). When the laughter subsided—the concept alone can be hilarious—I explained the idea behind it as well as my reasoning for using it as a lesson in communication. “I learned a simple fact early on in my career,” I said. “If orders can be misunderstood, they will be misunderstood. Keep it simple. Break it down Barney-style.”
The lesson is one that’s as old as warfare itself, one that I learned firsthand during the Gulf War that echoed through multiple combat deployments over the decades. You might hear it called the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid), but the idea is the same—any idea can get miscommunicated (or misunderstood) and it’s imperative that you explain it in a way that is as unambiguous as possible. If you assume what you say can be misunderstood, then your words have to account for that.
FROM THE BATTLEFIELD TO THE BOARDROOM
In a recent blog post, Craig Mullaney, bestselling author of The Unforgiving Minute, described five takeaways from his time in combat with the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan that proved relevant in business. Mullaney, who left the Army in 2008 to serve on the Obama presidential campaign, knows a thing or two about business. His post-military career includes leading Silicon Valley startups and serving as a leadership consultant to numerous Fortune 500 CEOs.
His first takeaway is fundamental to business success: Your heart really isn’t with the mission. It’s with the team. Success isn’t built around some brilliant mission statement or logo. It’s built on team and culture. Hence, the old standard, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” His second takeaway, ruthlessly prioritize impact, focuses on how we set priorities of effort and pursue them relentlessly. Prioritization ensures that everyone is working toward the same goals all the time. Third, harness the power of healthy paranoia. In other words, plan for failure, not success. That ensures you account for potential obstacles along the way and don’t assume you’ll waltz your way to success. When it comes to communication, his fourth takeaway is sacrosanct: Coordination across silos is an existential challenge—treat it like one. Never wait for communication, coordination, and synchronization to be addressed within a hierarchy. Find out who is on your left and right and work directly with them. Finally, Mullaney highlights a basic truth of leading as his fifth takeaway: True leadership is about giving directions, not commands. In war and in business, effective leaders don’t bark orders and expect quick action. They provide “direction and align resources with that purpose.” And good things follow.
COMBAT TRUISMS
Most reasonably astute leaders will draw lessons from one experience and find ways to apply them in other contexts. Sometimes, that happens within a single profession, like when a leader moves from unit to unit within the military. Other times, those lessons are applied in another profession in the way that Mullaney describes.
When I transitioned from the Army after three decades in uniform, I didn’t pack away the lessons of those years in an old wooden footlocker along with my old uniforms and expired MREs. I put them to use, sharing them with future generations, typically weaving them around a story in the process. Mine conveyed a strain of cynicism (or realism if you want to put an optimistic spin on them), inevitable after so many years among the rank and file.
1. If you think it can’t get any worse, it will.
When things start to go sideways, keep in mind that you might just be seeing the calm before the storm. Be patient and keep your head on a swivel.
2. Never high five on the objective.
Success is transitory. Don’t waste time celebrating, have a plan in place to consolidate your success and move out to the next objective.
3. Bad decisions make for great beer stories.
You never want to be the subject of someone else’s drinking stories. When you make a decision, be sure that you’ve listened to your advisors and considered all of the risks.
4. The enemy never sees you until you make a mistake.
When executing your strategy, the surest way to reveal your true intentions is to stumble out of the gate. That’s why wargaming and rehearsals are so important.
5. If it looks stupid, but it works, then it isn’t stupid.
To a lot of people, innovation looks like a mistake waiting to happen. Sometimes, you just have to have a little faith.
6. Experience is always something you get after you need it.
The road to success is paved with mistakes. And you’ll make a lot of them cutting a path for others to follow. But at least you’ll be leading the way.
7. Never reinforce failure; failure reinforces itself.
When things aren’t going the way you intend, there is always a temptation to double down and commit additional resources. Resist the temptation and conduct a thorough assessment of the situation.
8. The easy way has already been mined.
In the same vein as Mullaney’s third takeaway, I see the world through a lens of healthy paranoia. Plan for failure and you’re a lot more likely to achieve success.
9. The effective delivery of terror is a form of strategic communication.
The ruthless and relentless execution of a strategy will convey a message that your opponent will understand clearly.
10. No plan is sufficiently foolproof when executed by the right fool.
When formulating your brilliant plan, assume it will be executed by someone who still gets coloring books for Christmas.
These lessons begin and end on the same note: simplicity is a principle of war for a reason. Competition—whether on the battlefield or in the boardroom—is an unforgiving endeavor where success is measured in timely decisions made under the weight of duress. The less complicated you can make it, the better.
