Navigating Chaos. Jeff Boss
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improvement, shared understanding, humility, and leadership.
I never thought that I would want to write about anything even remotely related to special operations, let alone about something so “hush-hush” as the SEAL Teams. But there are lessons from the thirteen years I spent as a SEAL that should be shared.
It has been an internal struggle to write. The catch-22 of breaking the unspoken rule of not writing is to either do something that’s enjoyable and fulfilling, or to remain forever in the shadows and forget the experiences that have made me who I am today; lessons that can be shared with others so they may improve.
If the intent behind writing this book were to be another SEAL-turned-author and to beat my chest out of arrogance, then I wouldn’t have sent it to my publisher. That’s not me, nor is that my purpose. My purpose in writing this book is to share knowledge with those who seek to address unanswered questions within and about themselves, their teams, and their companies; with executives who may benefit from an alternative perspective to help cope with seemingly unanswerable leadership demands; and with those who believe in constant and never-ending improvement. That’s what this book is about. For the operational vignettes, I apologize to my brothers. However, just as any writer pulls from the context he or she knows best, I am pulling from mine—my experience just happens to fall within a realm that is frowned upon when shared. Deal with it.
The Teams are what have shaped me into the person I am today, and my naval career pathway brought with it knowledge and experience gained from unique situations that cannot be replicated in corporate America. Teamwork, superior performance, and the ability to overcome complex situations with limited resources can only be learned under the most austere conditions, such as those to which SEALs are exposed continually throughout our training and professional careers. These experiences shape our character, competence, life passion, family values, and humility in a way that nothing else ever could.
Be forewarned, however, that this is not a how-to book. I am not going to list the top ten things Navy SEALs do that will make you a badass, or brag about the awesome missions I’ve been on.
Instead, I offer a here you go book: a gathering of ideals and practices observed over the years that I believe define success and govern one’s ability to navigate uncertainty, whether it is as an individual, a small team, or an organization—ideals and practices that, when actualized simultaneously, create what I consider to be organizational fitness (more on this concept in “Organizational Fitness”).
Writing a book about the Teams was never an aspiration of mine, as I don’t believe in broadcasting one’s profession, but that’s not the purpose of my intent here, either. To share knowledge is to serve others; to withhold it—despite any unwritten rule—is to serve oneself. To reserve insight for oneself would be criminal, as it is a purely selfish means of improving one’s own self worth at the cost of others’. Knowledge-hoarding is a major pet peeve of mine—right up there with arrogance and slow drivers—as it is typically reserved for people who want to be the hero and whose ego leads the way, but obstructs everybody else’s. In a world of high-performing—and highly demanding—organizations, there is no place for ego. Results come from trust, attitude, and a shared purpose.
I did minimal research for this book because I didn’t need corroboration. I lived it. There are no numbers to backup the premises and I interviewed no one. Rather, the contents herein are based upon the personal experiences I have had from thirteen years in the Navy at the highest level, as well as my experiences both as a business consultant and in the private sector.
Hopefully, the insights in this book will serve you well. Even if all you take away from here is a sentence, chapter, or concept, I want it to create value for you.
Included are operational anecdotes, not for entertainment purposes, but to illustrate examples for the simple fact that special operations forces (SOF) have unique experiences to share that can help people, teams, and organizations adapt to change and become better. The Teams take a group of individuals, filter out the weak-minded, chip away the rough edges of those who choose to endure, and sculpt them into people who can find a solution for anything. SEAL training prepares the individual for anything, and this perspective in itself is something that can be adopted by both organizations and individuals who want to improve performance.
This book attempts to show how.
Organizational Fitness
The one certainty of chaos is that it is, by its very nature, uncertain. While finding success in a chaotic situation may seem to be at best an improbability and at worst an impossibility, I learned through my time in the SEAL Teams that there is method to this madness. As SEALs-in-training and on combat missions, we were thrown into every challenging situation imaginable; never knowing what to expect, and under pressure from ongoing change, we learned quickly to be ready for anything at a moment’s notice. To bear the brunt of such an undefined workload requires the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual faculties that either help or hinder success. More than anything, it requires balance among them all.
Without the emotional tolerance for stress and the mental capacity to solve problems under duress, it’s more likely that your next large-scale negotiation or board presentation will be subpar. This is exactly why navigating uncertainty requires balance, because the more intangibles at your disposal, the wider your knowledge base to create certainty—or something that creates value for you.
fitness |ˈfit•nis|
noun
The quality of being suitable to fulfill a particular role or task
The aptitude of somebody or something to fill a particular purpose
To maintain or increase its numbers in succeeding generations
I used to think that being fit simply meant to be an active runner, swimmer, or bodybuilder, but it doesn’t. There’s a broader definition of fitness that applies to the organization here. While any sort of exercise is certainly healthy, being truly fit means something else. If you ask a runner if she is fit, she will likely answer, “Yes, I run!” But if you ask a swimmer the same question he’ll respond, “Yes, I swim!” Individual fitness means different things to different people, just like winning means different things to different people. What’s more, a group of people has divergent definitions and interpretations of how to win both as individuals and as a team.
However, when you really look at the concept of fitness, the values and processes that garner winning are the same no matter what sport you play, because you never play alone. Whether you’re a writer, painter, business executive, or a Navy SEAL, the performance of one activity is typically influenced by the collection of many. Nobody achieves elite status alone.
Organizational fitness is a function of multiple factors: a company’s collective performance and how well they respond to an employee’s need for meaningful work, how much opportunity exists for personal and professional growth, how well different corporate functions fuse together to share the same purpose, and the difference you make as a leader.
Fitness and health are not the same. You can have low cholesterol, no physical ailments, and be considered healthy, but still not be able to climb stairs because your fitness level isn’t up to par. Conversely, if you are indeed fit and can perform a wide array of exercises, then a healthy body and mind are the byproducts. Fitness connotes the ability to deliver, to perform, and to execute. One may be healthy while living a relatively sedentary lifestyle, but not fit.
Companies are no different. The healthy ones have a great culture where people enjoy working, but at the end of the day, the company lacks execution. It lags behind in the marketplace or does not satiate employees’ needs for growth. As a result, companies that are merely “healthy” lose market share and/or talent.
It’s no secret that to wield optimal performance from an employee, he or she needs a balance of formal education and practical job-related experience, but also personal fulfillment, meaningful relationships, and opportunities to contribute and grow. (See “Sports Snapshot” below.)
However, with