Executive Summary Book Review
November 4, 2015
Adapt or Die: Leadership Principles From An American General
By Ret. Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch
Sharing stories from the front and insights born from overcoming adversity on both the battlefield and in the boardroom, Lynch reveals impactful leadership principles ranging from earning respect and working effectively with diverse teams to adapting to new technology and laying a foundation of trust built upon integrity. With refreshing directness, he shows readers how to make wise calls and gain the confidence they need to lead in our ever-changing world.
Lt Gen (Ret) Rick Lynch
Lt. Gen. (Ret) Rick Lynch has commanded at all levels of the Army, from company (100 soldiers) to Corps (65,000 soldiers) to commander of all US Army installations (120,000 civilian employees and soldiers worldwide). He spent over thirty months in Iraq, including fifteen months as one of the leaders of the 2007 Surge and recently accepted the position as executive director of the University of Texas at Arlington Research Institute. He and his wife of thirty years, Sarah, live in Texas.
Leadership Principles
1. Focus on opportunities, not obstacles
2. Decide when to decide
3. Be an engaged leader
4. Look down, not up
5. Be demanding but not demeaning
6. Achieve a work-life balance
- Have fun
8. Always celebrate diversity
9. Be a mentor
Introduction
· The solution to almost every problem we face is strong leadership – leadership built on the ability to adapt.
· Adaptation is the key to survival not only in business or out on the battlefield, but in life.
· True leaders know how to adapt and know how to get those around them to adapt to any situation.
· Leaders adapt and push through decisions & struggles in life: by seeing opportunities instead of obstacles; by acting as an engaged leader; by standing up as a lifestyle evangelist who leads not just with words, but by example and by knowing one’s priorities and standing on a solid foundation thus allowing one to adapt and persevere with resilience.
Example: Fort Hood Army wife / work-life balance
o Highest suicide rate of any Army base to lowest in a year
o Fatal traffic accidents on base went from q 10 to 15 days to almost nonexistent
One tenet that undergirds everything is that our people are our most important resource. If we don’t take care of them, they won’t have the ability to adapt.
Opportunities, not obstacles
· Obstacles are a part of life, and great leaders see obstacles for what they really are: opportunities.
· Nurturing your ability to see through obstacles is one key to becoming a great leader.
· The fact is, if you’re facing obstacles in your life and work, if you find yourself gliding along in your comfort one all the time, you’re probably working in the wrong place.
· Push harder, look for opportunities to work outside of your comfort zone, face obstacles head on, push through. It all comes down to attitude.
Example 1: No $
o Parents instilled profound work ethic = set up for a lifetime of success.
o Foundation of optimism, the steadfast belief that one can overcome obstacles and turn them into opportunities, every time.
§ Colin Powell – optimism is a force multiplier.
§ Abraham Lincoln – A man is about as happy as he makes up his mind to be.
Example 2: Beast Barracks
· Not giving in, not giving up, and following through until you get to the other side of the challenge are important first steps in learning how to lead – not to mention learning how to adapt and move forward when the going gets tough.
· Resist the urge to quit – and do your best to instill that resistance in those working under you.
Example 3: Speak Up!
· Engineer – support, beginning career as a middle man. Wanted to become a Company Commander, a leader
· If I had never spoken up I would never have found the opportunity that existed in the obstacle of that terrible job
· In order to be successful I needed to be aggressive, enthusiastic, strong but fair, and don’t take no for an answer.
Example 4 Technology
· Robotics, digital battalion, situational awareness on the battlefield using GPS - many failures, some systems worked, some did not work, but focus was on those that did work.
· It’s up to leaders to know when to take a calculated risk based on knowledge and experience in the name of long-term progress.
As you’re confronted with difficult circumstances, your outlook is everything.
Decide When to Decide
· Every decision you make as a leader will have an impact on people’s livelihoods. You hold those lives in your hands.
Example 1 Doha, Kuwait, motor pool
o Lead fearlessly. For Rick Lynch his strength comes from his belief in God. “Strong Christians, candidly, are not afraid of dying – they just don’t want to do it anytime soon.”
o Love your subordinates like your own children. Staying behind and doing the right thing for his men was an easy decision.
Example 2 Keep Your Eye on the Goal
· Take the time to think, to plan, to lead with confidence rather than urgency and panic
· Sometimes you need to make a decision on the spot but if you can take time to think, a couple of minutes, hours, days, set a timetable and make a decision.
· 3 questions to regularly ask:
1. Are we doing the right thing?
2. Are we doing things right?
3. What are we missing?
Where do you get your source of strength to stand up and do what is right based on the priorities that matter most?
Be an Engaged Leader
Example 1 Focus Management
o You cannot focus on critical issues when you’re consumed by absurd distractions. It is up to you as a leader to take charge and tell your work force what to focus on.
o The Surge
o Office communications
Example 2 Ask Intrusive Questions
· Engaged leaders ask intrusive questions.
o How’s the family?
o Is there anything going on at home that might be affecting your performance?
· People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
· Some leaders are uncomfortable asking personal questions for fear they are violating privacy or asking things that are none of their business. However, questions don’t necessarily need to get answered. But at least you have let them know you care.
· However, once you have opened the door, be prepared for the unexpected answer and follow through.
· Who do you love the most phone calls.
Example 3 Fort Hood Army Barracks
· Not my problem
· Property management v people management
· Just the presence of leadership allowed police to remove their body armor and the blotter reports were wiped cleaned almost overnight.
To lead is to serve.
Look Down, Not Up
· Get to know your workers. Get to understand them. Let them know you care about them as people. Once that is established people will not only be working for you but with you.
· There is no stronger place from which a leader can lead.
Example 1 First Names
o Colin Powell parking lot attendant story
o Studies show that you can improve service by 80% if you address a person by their first name
o Every day your staff has a decision to make: Do they simply do their jobs, or do they do their job to the absolute best of their abilities?
Example 2 Management v Leadership
· Management is pure business, profit & loss.
· You can’t be a true leader without care, compassion and concern.
· If you ask someone, “Hey, how are you doing?” be prepared to listen and potentially do something.
Example 3 Communications
· How do you let people know you care beyond one-on-one interactions?
· Get in front of your people and advocate for your beliefs and expectations.
· Town Hall meetings, climate analysis, large audiences when times were tough.
Communication means everything especially when one of the things you believe in most is the very audience you are talking to.
Be Demanding, Not Demeaning
Unfortunately a lot of leaders are afraid to be demanding for fear they will be mislabeled demeaning. There is a line there. Try to stay to the left of that line. But as leaders we cannot let go of our demands. Demand high performance and adherence to standards.
Example 1 The 7-minute Rule
· Not everyone operates on the same clock, but in the work place we need to. Otherwise, you are wasting other people’s time and slowing down their productivity.
· RL has told subordinates in every setting he has worked in that if a meeting starts at 1 pm and it is 1:07 pm, they are to leave. Because of his commitment to show up on time, if he is late, he has been unavoidably detained.
· Conversely, has been known to lock the door to the conference room after a punctual start of the meeting.
· End meetings on time.
· Not everyone operates on the same clock, but in the work place we need to. Otherwise, you are wasting other people’s time and slowing down their productivity.
Example 2 Voice Amplification
· Because of position and perceived power that comes with the position, every word said has more of an impact.
· Knowing that you are speaking with an amplification system comes with newfound responsibility.
· RL’s personal struggles with anger management and swearing.
· Positive voice amplification
Everyone must perform to his or her full potential.
Achieve a Work-Life Balance
· The difference between an extremely successful individual or organization and moderately successful one is time management.
· If individuals who make up an organization are overwhelmed and consumed by their work, they are either going to burn out or stop working to their full capacity.
· Make time management a priority both as a leader and for your organization.
Example 1 Time to Think
· 15-7-2 (at home 15 became 10/5) of the work time, 2 H dedicated to quiet time to think.
· As a leader, with so many people in your ear and so many decisions to make, you have to make time for yourself just to think.
· If you don’t make time to think, whatever decisions you make over the course of the day are just going to be echoing somebody else’s thoughts, not yours.
Example 2 Living your Dash
· Missing son’s high school graduation, being there in the end.
· No matter how big or important the organization is that you’re leading, your life and your family are bigger. Time management focused on the priorities that you set, is the key to you being a part of your own life.
· Don’t miss your dash, and make sure your work force follows your lead.
A challenge can cause you to grow and learn and become better at whatever you choose to do.
Have Fun
· If a leader is not having fun, no one is having fun.
Celebrate Diversity
Example 1 Stamp Out Stupid
· Gave out personal email to solicit ideas to reduce redundancies and improve operations during times of budget cuts.
· In the first 6 mos received 500 ideas of which 20% were solid. 100 good ideas.
· Open yourself to a variety of viewpoints different from yours.
Everywhere I find happy employees, connected employees and engaged employees, I also find incredibly strong and profitable companies.
Be A Mentee/Mentor
· Aggressively seek out mentors at every step in your career. These individuals have learned lessons by experience so put in the time to track them down, get through their gatekeepers and glean whatever knowledge you can from them.
· In general, people who are good at what they do, like to be mentors.
· In order for organizations to run smoothly, organizational leaders need to assign mentors – tag someone to pick up the new guy and show them the ropes. Antithesis of sink or swim mentality.
· Army captain mass exodus
· Mentoring is a 2-way street. As you move up in your career if people come seeking your advice, it is important that you get to know them a bit, actively listen, and share whatever advice or knowledge you can.
A mentor is not just someone who teaches you the ropes or pushes you to the next promotion like a coach. It’s different. It’s someone who can really listen and help you to figure out what’s best for you. And you need to have been both a mentor and a mentee in your career to be effective in that capacity.
The most successful individuals/organizations are the most adaptable to change
· The key to adapting to change is resiliency.
· Resiliency = tending to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change
· Five key components to resiliency
1. Spiritual fitness
2. Physical fitness
3. Emotional fitness
4. Societal fitness
5. Familial fitness
Go ahead and let your managers complain about the cost of implementing these five components of resiliency within your organization. How can you, as a leader, foster growth of each of these areas in your subordinates? The payoff will be immense.
Build a strong foundation. Stand on that foundation. Set your priorities in life. Always put your people first.