“He who hesitates is lost,” so the famous saying goes. And for leaders in the fast-paced, ever-changing business climate of the last decade, the stakes seem higher than ever. Jake Wood, former Marine scout sniper and founder/CEO of disaster-relief organization Team Rubicon, brings a unique perspective and practical tools for “how to be a first responder in business” in his book Take Command.
This isn’t just a book for business leaders. I saw immediate applications of his principles for my particular context, that of a church ministry leader. This book could be helpful for fathers, coaches, pastors, and probably a host of other roles where the stakes are high, and the variables are many.
Wood is a no-nonsense writer. He is clear and straightforward, but never simplistic. There is no idealism, but there is hope. He knows there is no such thing as guaranteed success, and he encourages the reader to accept and leverage that fact. I particularly appreciated Wood’s ideas on building the right team and inspiring them to action. This is an area I struggle in, and he gave me actionable steps for making adjustments right away.
Other areas of focus include transparency with your people, creating “actionable intelligence” from raw data, and moving forward despite uncertainty and risk. Despite the “hoo-rah” nature of many of these topics, I never found Wood to be cocky or full of bravado. He isn’t about unnecessary risk, win-at-all-costs approaches, or inspiring false hope. This is about knowing and accepting reality, and then leading people to make an impact in the face of that reality. And that is something every leader could use a little more of.
Highly recommended.
Please Note: This book was gifted as a part of the Blogging for Books Reviewers Program in exchange for my unbiased review of this work. This has in no way influenced my opinion or review of this work.