Achieve

Thinking like a marine is about converting potential into performance. All the readiness needs to be put to use. Find meaning in what you are doing, and you will keep challenging yourself to get better for the rest of your life.

Chapter 7

Work Together to Aim High

United We Conquer. Working together makes hard things achievable. (Note: achievable is NOT the same as easy.) Cohesion is the force that acts to unite people — it raises the standards and efforts of every team member. When a marine needs help, we share the load.

The first principle of leading a team is that it is not about you. Success means 'we' not 'I'. When a team member fails, the leader fails. Clarity works better than control.

A leader is a catalyst, not an extinguisher.

Chapter 8

Make Success a Habit

Join a large number of small habitual outcomes together and you get one big successful outcome. But habits alone are not enough — you need a code. The Royal Marines settled on theirs in 1952: courage, determination, unselfishness, humour in adversity. A code must be achievable. It does not have to be easy. It does not have to fit an acronym.

A code is not a list of values on a poster; it is part of the force that unites people.

Chapter 9

Be Reliable

Never say the most dangerous two words in the English language: 'if only…'. A reliable marine uses intuition, stays self-aware, solves problems, thinks critically, and is motivated from within. Resilience is the product of your adaptive capacity. A goal is a direction, not a destination.

Never change the goal when it gets hard, adapt the process.

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