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

and coaching no matter how constructive, I chose to take a more indirect
approach.
“Maybe not so much here to help you, but here to help the situation,”
I answered, effectively lowering the VP’s defenses.
In the weeks leading up to the board meeting, I researched and
examined the details of why the VP’s plan had failed and what had gone
wrong, and I spoke to the VP about the problems encountered in the
plan’s execution. He explained that the consolidation of manufacturing
plants had failed because his distribution managers feared that
increasing the distance between plants and distribution centers would
prevent face-to-face interaction with the manufacturing team and reduce
their ability to tweak order specifics. They surmised it would also inhibit
their ability to handle rush-order deliveries. The VP dismissed his
distribution managers’ concerns as unfounded. In the event the need
arose to adjust orders or customize, a teleconference or videoconference
would more than suffice.
The VP also explained why the incentivized bonus structure hadn’t
been put in place. Each time his plant managers and other key leaders
were presented with the rollout plan, they pushed back with concerns:
the employees wouldn’t make enough money; they would leave for jobs
with higher base salaries that didn’t require minimum standards;
recruiters would capitalize on the change and pull skilled workers away.
When the VP pushed the manufacturing managers harder, they teamed
up with the sales managers. The two groups opposed the VP’s plan,
claiming it was the company’s reputation for skilled manufacturing that
kept business coming in, and such a change would put the business at
risk.
Finally, when it came to the VP’s plan to streamline the