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

company], and that causes big problems and delays for us,” said the
production manager. “Those delays are impacting production and costing
our company serious revenue.”
“How can you help this subsidiary company?” I asked the production
manager.
“I can’t!” he replied. “They don’t work for me. We don’t work for
the same bosses. They are a different company.” While he was right that
they were a different company, both companies fell under the leadership
of the same parent corporation.
“Besides,” he added with indifference, “they aren’t my problem. I’ve
got my own team to worry about.”
“It sounds like they are your problem,” I responded.
“In that sense,” he agreed, “I guess they are.”
“What’s worse,” continued the production manager, now on a roll of
bashing the subsidiary company, “because corporate owns them, we are
forced to use their services.”
“What you just called the worst part should be the best part,” Jocko
responded. “You are both owned by the same corporation, so you both
have the same mission. And that is what this is about—the overall
mission, the overall team. Not just your team, but the whole team; the
entire corporation—all departments within your company, all subsidiary
companies under the corporation, outside contractors, the whole
enterprise. You must work together and support each other as one team.”
“The enemy is out there,” I said, pointing out the window to the
world beyond. “The enemy is all the other competing companies in your
industry that are vying for your customers. The enemy is not in here,
inside the walls of this corporation. The departments within and the
subsidiary companies that all fall under the same leadership structure—