Start with Why

Verified Tool

The Dichotomy of Leadership

Balancing the Challenges of Extreme Ownership to Lead and Win
Jocko Willink

Limitless

PGS 8.5
Personal Growth Score
What does this mean?

Published Date
September 28, 2018

Page Count
320 pages

Reading Time
6 hours

Listening Time
10.5 hours

📘 Why It's Worth Reading

Jocko Willink is a former US Navy Seal and the author of several best-selling books on leadership. In this book, he shares the importance of balancing the many facets of being a leader. It’s full of war stories containing real-life implications that shouldn’t be missed.

📣 Notable Shoutouts

Will Smith

Pete Roberts

Co-Founder & CEO / Origin Maine USA

“Until this point in my life, I’ve never read a book that reveals the truths of leadership in such detail and rawness. The true value of this book cannot be quantified in words.”

📣 Social Shoutouts

📖 Quotes from The Dichotomy of Leadership

“There is no growth in the comfort zone.”

Jocko Willink

“Accountability is an important tool that leaders must utilize. However, it should not be the primary tool. It must be balanced with other leadership tools, such as making sure people understand the why, empowering subordinates, and trusting they will do the right thing without direct oversight because they fully understand the importance of doing so.”

Jocko Willink

“As a leader, you have to balance the dichotomy, to be resolute where it matters but never inflexible and uncompromising on matters of little importance to the overall good of the team and the strategic mission.”

Jocko Willink

“If mistakes happen, effective leaders don’t place blame on others. They take ownership of the mistakes, determine what went wrong, develop solutions to correct those mistakes and prevent them from happening again as they move forward.”

Jocko Willink

⭐ Real Reviews on The Dichotomy of Leadership

positive review

Standby to Get Some!

If you want to find out how to lead and how to win, this book is your guide. I opened the first page and instantly was hit in the face with a little something called GET SOME. First, if you’re reading this and haven’t read Extreme Ownership go do that. Second, if you lead other leaders buy each of them a copy of both books too. Balance in leadership is the key to success. Too many leaders lack the ability to recognize those dichotomies but Jocko and Leif bring the theories to life by sharing tales of battle, and real-world scenarios in business. If you haven’t read Jocko’s “Discipline Equals Freedom: Field Training Manual,” go get it, but the real reason I bring that text up here is because one of his first thoughts explains Why he does what he does. The sacrifice of those heroes lost in battle, the sacrifice these men have made to bring us this book cannot be overstated.

Thank you for your service, for the sacrifice, and for helping me as a leader, as a man, and as a person.

Standby to get some because my team is winning the war every day thanks to these books.

critical review

It was solid.

It built off of the first one, but the first one felt more real than this one. The principles covered are great but the stories for business application felt forced.

🎥 Videos on The Dichotomy of Leadership

Dichotomy Of Leadership, by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

Jocko Podcast

Jocko Willink on The Dichotomy of Leadership

Y Combinator Clips

Jocko Willink- NAVY SEAL Leadership Strategies

Valuetainment