Richard Marcinko | John Weisman
1 Excellent Book for Your Collection
This book is one of Marcinko's best. Rather than being a collection of his war stories this book is a collection of Marcinko's thoughts and principles that he has applied to his military career.
This book is very practical and applicable to those outside the military. Each chapter is a specific principle the author feels is vital to leadership. He uses 2 real world examples to illustrate how each principle has been applied in the real world, 1 military and 1 in a formal business atmosphere.
This book isn't very long, as only 130 pages or so, but it's filled with a lot of little tidbits of information. If you have read Marcinko's other books then little of this book will be new information to you. I really enjoyed seeing specific examples of how these theories play out in the world rather than somebody saying "do this because you'll get this".
2 No nonsense is colorful and interesting
This is the first "rogue warrior" book that I have read and I was instantly hooked. The principles that the author puts forward are simple and effective, driving home the overall messages very well. This book has helped me to think differently about what I do, where I work, and how I allow people to impact my day-to-day activities. In short, the book has pointed out that YOU are the only one who is in control of your career...that through proper training and preparation, you can be ready for anything...and that true leaders disregard the political ramifications and take decisive and definative stances - in spite of the trials that they will face.
The author is rough and gruff in terms of the language he uses -- so if you are easily offended, you should probably stay away. If you can handle the strong wording, then this book may be a good choice for you to "lead the charge" and take back your career.
3 This is the good one.....
Even if you are not the leader of your team/group/posse, whatever, this is a great book to help you to BECOME that leader. This is a straightahead, no nonsense book which makes you look at yourself and where you want to be, and what you want to do and best of all, makes you think. It is not an answer book, that is for sure, so be ready to think fast.
4 Dick is not a businessman
Sorry, but I know Mr. Marcinko (on a casual basis) and I know many of his former TEAM warriors on a more professional basis. Dick is an EXCEPTIONAL conflict commander, but this skillset does not transfer to a business environment.
As much as middle managers want to beleive (and in some cases dickweed executive management) that they are warfighters within their overblown egos...they are not. Warfighting and business are two totaly dicotomous activities.
Business, by its nature, is meant to further the business goals of an organization. War, on the converse, is designed to subjugate an enemy. Tell me, is there any commonality? Doubtful. And, if business leaders actually find common theology with 'Dick', Sun Tsu, or Causawitz, then they need to enter physco therapy as soon as possible... a serious Nepolianic complex
In war, combatants are able to achieve objects by 'any means neccessary'. This is not the case in business, if for no other reason than human decency with interject boundries... I am not a fan of any military doctrine being applied to 'making money'...wrong, wrong wrong.
Other than the core of this book. the stories are fun, but have nothing to do with business... if they do, then we (as a nation) have moved into a sorry state of "win at any cost" and, that is very depressing.
5 Practical application in specific situtations
I attended a military service academy and received much formalized leadership training. Most of this training was geared for what worked in the sterile corporate environment of officership. That training had its merits for its intended purpose. I now own a large contracting company. Those lessons don't work well for the crews in the field. Marcinko's lessons are much more applicable. Marcinko is rude, crude, testosterone laden - but most importantly effective. He understood his audience and what worked and what didn't. This is the key. I require all my job foreman to read this book. To management level personnel I'll give Steven Covey - but not to the guys who sweat & bleed for a living and have to get others to do the same.
6 Outstanding "Lead from the Front" advice
Should be required reading for all managers. Lead from the front. Lead by example. Take care of your people. Great advice that - too often - goes unheeded. This should be a classic management text!
7 Excellent
I am the Communications Supervisor at a Sheriff's Office. One of my co-workers is an avid reader of Marcinko. Out of the blue one day, he loaned me this book. I put off reading it because I figured he'd be this blood & violence, boring author. I hate violence and find it boring. That's why I hate the Die Hard movies. But, this book is so good. He's witty and has a no-nonsense approach. My father was a WWII Guadal Canal veteran, so I have deep appreciation and respect for our military and veterans. And, I loved the war stories and how he applied them to the "real" world. I'm hooked on Marcinko now. He's an excellent writer. He has my style of leadership.
8 Entertaining application of Marcinko's SpecWar learnings
It's common enough for business leaders to resort to military metaphors for "conquering the marketplace", and rare enough for them to be able to speak with credibility in the same fashion. An interesting blend of military aphorism and business practice, this book will probably only appeal to those who have read other Rogue Warrior works - but take the rules to heart, for they are true on any battlefield you may face. Corporate and military organizations are both often plagued with politicking and similar counterproductive BS, and Richard Marcinko famously decries all that to focus on results - as any leader should.
9 Sorting the Leaders from the Wanna-Bes
In modern corporate America, we have a breed of people who talk tough at the bar or in their office, but rarely put any muscle behind the talk. The hardest lesson of Marcinko's book is in fact the best one: You must be ready to risk everything you've accomplished in order to succeed even further. The difference between the leaders and the wanna-bes who just play the game is that the leaders don't talk about their philosophy, they just live it and they aggressively confront those obstacles. The wanna-bes talk about their philosophy, but when it comes time for the show-down, they're nowhere to be found. This book forces you to take a look at how you do business and be honest with yourself about how you can do it better.
10 Lead!
I've read many "leadership" books, but Marcinco's book makes the top 10. Yeah, there's tons of books that teach the fundamentals of being a leader, yet Marcinco drives at the practicality of being a leader. Instead of hiding behind the desk, a leader needs to be leading the team. Whether that is with vision for your company or an attack plan for your military troop. Half the battles we fight in corporate America are the agendas hiding behind the lines. This book might rub you wrong, heck it rubbed me wrong right off the bat. But when it comes down to it, this book will kick you right where you need to be: A Leader!
11 2 stars for the war stories
What a JOKE! Marcinko's so called advice is nothing more than the vague,windy exhalations of a Rogue Blowhard. "Lead from the Trenches" There I just saved you the time you would have wasted if you had read the entire book. It's not a bad point, but that's all you get for your effort. If you are one of those business men that likes to pretend he's a samurai then maybe you'd like this gaseous rag. But if you want to run a successful business, look elsewhere for help.Read W.E.B. Griffith's books instead. The business advice is just as non-existant as in this book but the war stories are much better
12 Leadership Secrets Of The Rogue Warrior
This book has lead me to take an agressive approach toward the path my life is to take. Commander Marcinko makes me wish I could have served under him in the "Teams" and I want to work for him now. It also outlines the way leaders should conduct themselves "Honestly". No symantics, no prima donna garbage. " This is our job guys lets do it!"Ø
13 He exemplifies the code of the warrior.
Demo dick is the ipitomy of the best the United States Navy has to offer, he led from the front. Having personal experience in the teams for 12 years, I can attest to the fact that he is the real mcCoy, not some guy tring to make money as an author. This book is a truism; an authentic view at the way that all managers, and supposed leader's of men, should lead their forces into battle. Know your company, know your competition, & know your future. Like the skipper says, "The code of the warrior is to delight in battle", and, "You don't have to like it, but you have to do it. "OOO-YUH !"
14 No Bull Leadership
If you are tired of books that are full of the latest fads in business management-- meaningless buzzwords and philosophies that only add a layer of confusion between a manager and his workers-- this is the book to read.
Commander Marcinko knows that if you want to get people to perform toward a common result, they need a person they can trust, who knows the situations they're facing, and looks out for their welfare. In short, a leader.
This is the kind of info that works-- always has and always will. Regardless of the industry or work enviroment you are in, these proven ideas apply. (If you don't think they will, then you better evaluate yourself as a leader!). Buy it, read it and read it again, and pass it around-- it's the perfect answer to those of you who feel they're living in a Dilbert comic strip.
15 Inspired me to quit my job!
If you can't decide whether your boss is an idiot or a true leader,you need to read this book.Marcinko tells it like it is even if you don't want to hear the truth.His book is really a fun read.Most people I know who bought it read it twice in under 3 days time.Marcinko described it to me at a 4 hour signing he did as "kinda like Sun Tzu,only with the F-word".It made me realize I was working for a boss on the road to nowhere.
16 excellent advice
Marcinko's book is not only good advice for the business world, but for life as well. I suggest you purchase this book and follow Marcinko's example.
17 Motivating and an encouragement to young leaders
Being a military brat I enjoyed the military stories about applied leadership. As a young professional, I enjoyed the examples the author gave from the business world.
18 Bought 20 copies for my managers!
This is one of the best books on leadership I have read-- and I have read hundreds. There is a diffence between management and leadership -- this teaches you to lead
19 Common sense, peppered with war stories. GREAT. Hoo-ah!!!!
Great read! Simple, straight forward, makes more sense than any of the other "mumbo-jumbo" leadership/management books on the market. The corporate world DOES mirror combat, despite the fact that we're encouraged to be more compassionate, understanding, and feel the pain of others.
Despite a wimpy exterior, Bill Gates has as big a warrior hear as does Richard Marcinko. Gates may have used 'namby pamby' techniques like market surveys, beta testing, and listening to his customers, but for the ultimate goal. As Marcinko and his warrior band, Gates uses the tools of surveillance and reconnaissance to his advantage, to DESTROY the competition and win. Throughout his tenure at Microsoft, he has crafted an organization that would kill for the man. Marcinko's book can explain how to do just that.
Having been a military leader myself, the corporate world has been screaming for this kind of book and training. To walk past it at this point would be ludicrous!
Captain Marcinko, despite my service pedigree, I'd follow you anywhere! Go Army, Beat Navy!
20 You always knew this stuff was true.
Marcinko puts uncommon wisdom and his own very uncommon experience together to look at how businesses are run, and run-into-the-ground. He compares true leaders to phonies (Chrysler's Lee Iacocca/GM's Roger Smith); creates his own salty 10 Commandments (# 6: I will treat you all alike - just like s**t!)and leadership rules (I will test my theories on myself first), and the prime directive for leaders (Lead from the front!). Marcinko makes it clear that success is achieved by those who have the yaytsas (look it up!) to take personal responsibility, put themselves into the thick of the battle, and risk the mistakes, blunders, bruises, and pain (Commandment #5 - If thou hurteth in thy efforts and thou suffer painful dings, then thou art Doing It Right.) Buy this book
21 Navy SEAL Strategies for the Businessman
Marcinko spent over 30 years working with and leading Navy SEAL special warfare units. His best selling "Rogue Warrior" series shared some of his experiences and the successes and struggles he experienced throughout his career. In this book, Marcinko re-visits successful (and unsuccessful) leadership techniques that are surprisingly just as applicable to the everyday business world as they are to the jungles of South East Asia. Not unlike the "suit and tie samurai," Japanese businessmen who read the "Book of Five Rings" (warrior strategy written by legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi in the 1500's)and apply the lessons to business life, the reader of this book can find ways to fight the "battles" of the business world. One example from the book is, "...People just blithely assume that the main reason they don't achieve their goal is that someone ELSE beat them to it. ...If you finish second it's not BECAUSE someone else finished first. That person's victory as just a "side effect" of your failure. If you lost, it was because you didn't sufficiently punish yourself in training, and didn't focus your full force of your being on victory." A refreshing perspective on the business "battlefield."
