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

clarification, and brought up points that had been glossed over or
neglected and why they were important. I instructed them to revise the
plan with those thoughts in mind, under the tutelage of their regional
manager.
A month later, I placed a phone call to the regional manager to track
the team’s progress. She sent me a copy of their latest detailed plan.
“I like the plan you sent,” I told her. “It has improved much from the
first attempt.”
“Yes,” the regional manager agreed. “And we just executed on that
plan, and it went well. As a result of the planning, the team was able to
anticipate and address some contingencies. Before, such contingencies
would have cost us business and a decent loss in revenue. But now, with
our planning process in place, we were prepared and the team knew how
to respond. As a result, we continued to generate revenue.”
“Great,” I said.
“With everyone understanding my ‘Commander’s Intent’,” said the
regional manager, “the team is able to be more decisive on the front
lines. They can support the mission without having to run every question
up the chain of command. Our ability to plan is enabling us to better
execute and win.”