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

of the platoon commanders, and again, they would pass my guidance
down to their subordinate leadership.”
“Couldn’t things get confused? Like in the old game of telephone,
where you whisper a word around a circle of people and it comes back
different from how it started?” asked the president.
“That is why simplicity is so important,” I answered. “Proper
Decentralized Command requires simple, clear, concise orders that can
be understood easily by everyone in the chain of command. I spelled out
my Commander’s Intent directly to the troops so they would know
exactly what the ultimate goal of the mission was. That way they would
have the ability to execute on the battlefield in a manner that supported
the overarching goal, without having to ask for permission. Junior
leaders must be empowered to make decisions and take initiative to
accomplish the mission. That was critical to our success on the
battlefield. And it will greatly help you here.”
“But can’t you end up with a bunch of little individual elements just
doing whatever they want—helter-skelter?” asked the president with
skepticism.
“You could end up with that if you, as a leader, failed to give clear
guidance and set distinct boundaries,” I explained. “With clear guidance
and established boundaries for decision making that your subordinate
leaders understand, they can then act independently toward your unified
goal.”
“I get it,” said the president—“a mission statement.”
“That’s part of it,” I replied, “but there is more. A mission statement
tells your troops what you are doing. But they have got to understand
why they are doing it. When the subordinate leaders and the frontline
troops fully understand the purpose of the mission, how it ties into