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

would do that?”
“No idea,” said Gary. “He knows he has to run that call through me.
But he’s been in this business way longer than I have, and he’s got a ton
of experience. Sometimes he looks at me, and his face says What the hell
do you know? I’m sure he thinks he knows better than me.”
“Perhaps he was just pushing the envelope to see what he could get
away with,” I replied. “Which can escalate if you let it go.”
“That’s part of the problem. I’m worried about how he will respond
to my critique,” said Gary. “With his years of knowledge and experience,
he is a critical member of this team. We can’t afford to lose him. If I call
him out, he is going to blow up at me and the friction between us is
likely to get even worse than it already is. And you know the climate in
this industry. With his experience, he can find another job tomorrow if
he wants to.”
“That means you will have to check your ego in order to have a
constructive discussion with him and get this under control,” I
responded.
“Let’s think through this,” I continued. “Do you think he deliberately
tried to shut down drilling operations and cost the company money?”
“No,” admitted Gary. “I’m sure he thought he was doing what was
best for the immediate situation as it presented itself.”
“At the tactical level, on the front lines where the guys in the field
execute the mission,” I said, “it is critical that the troops grasp how what
they do connects to the bigger picture. Your superintendent may not have
really understood how his failure to follow procedure and get approval
for these changes would result in hundreds of thousands of dollars lost.
Do you think that is possible?”
“Definitely. He has exceptional hands-on knowledge of drilling, but