Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

“So what can I do to make them believe?” asked the CEO.
“It’s easy,” I explained. “Just tell them why.”
The CEO finally understood what she needed to do.
For my training with the midlevel managers the next day, the CEO
made an appearance and kicked things off with a short presentation.
“Good morning, everyone,” she began. “Jocko pointed out to me that
you all had some issues with the new compensation plan. What don’t you
like?”
After a few moments of silence, one of the more senior managers
finally mustered the courage to speak up. “Cutting into our sales team’s
take-home pay hurts,” said the manager. “It may drive some of them
elsewhere, and that could hurt us in the long run.”
The CEO smiled. She explained the details of the strategy behind the
plan: the increased volume, the reduced overhead, the greater capture of
existing accounts when handled by higher producing salespeople. The
managers quickly saw the connection and understood the benefits of the
plan.
“Does anyone have any questions?” the CEO finished. No one spoke
up. “Seriously. Does anyone have any questions? Don’t be afraid to ask.
I obviously didn’t make this clear to you. And unfortunately, none of you
asked!” she jabbed.
“No, I think we get it now,” one of the managers replied.
“Do you think you can explain it to your sales force in a manner that
they will understand?” asked the CEO.
“I do,” a manager answered. “But I still think some of the low
producers will be upset.”
“I’m sure some of them will be,” the CEO replied. “As I said, that is
part of the strategy here. The ones I want you to focus on here are the big