#153 Jocko Willink on Respect, Influence and Leadership | Impact Theory

If I'm manipulating you, I'm trying to get you to do something that's going to benefit me. If I'm leading, I'm trying to get you to do something that's going to benefit you, the team, and the mission.

The reasonable man conforms to the world. The unreasonable man insists that the world conform to him. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

What you have to do is subordinate your ego, be supportive of the person that's in charge, and move forward together as a team. That's what it's about. It's not about me; it's about the team.

When you want to earn respect, give respect. When you want to earn influence, give influence. When you want to earn trust, give trust.

So many kids these days miss out on the correlation between working, studying, and pushing yourself to the results that you get... It's what I think hurts kids. They don't connect what they're doing now with the future.

If you want to be a good leader, you have to understand human nature. The places where human nature reveals itself most clearly are times of extreme sorrow, pain suffering, and inhumanity.

When I say that relationships are the most important thing in getting things done... When I look back at my career in the Navy and the SEAL teams, just about every single thing that I ever did was through relationships.