Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink
The rising fame of Jocko Willink may make some of you familiar with him. The incredibly disciplined ex-Navy SEAL will make you feel bad for not completing a mixed martial arts workout at 4 in the morning. With his active instagram he is a must follow but more importantly a role model for those looking for self improvement in a no nonsense manner.
His book Extreme Ownership should be on the list of every sales professional. The lessons inside apply equally well to your day to day life as well as your job. The book is essentially a mindset of responsibility that does not change no matter how easy it is to blame others. It is grounded in leadership, both up and down the chain of command from managers in companies to employees on the ground.
For example, if you are boss fails to perform a task, it is your responsibility to take ownership of the situation. A bad leader would simply blame it on those below him, which is exactly the opposite of extreme ownership. Whereas a good manager blames himself for not communicating the task clearly or training his team better, and seeks to correct it for next time. That is leading down the chain of command.
Leading up the chain of command would come into play if you are a rep and your boss chews you out for not booking more meetings. A good leader would take it upon himself to make more calls, email on a weekly basis to hit that goal that he has taken to improve. While a bad leader would simply blame it on the boss, a good leader takes ownership.
You as a rep could have done a better job of fostering a strong relationship with your peers to see what they have done to succeed. Did you ever meet with the top team member and ask him to mentor you and provide suggestions for how you could better hit your quota?
How it relates to sales: Every day a sales rep faces challenges and it is the easy escape to blame external circumstances. From competitors in the marketplace to "bad bosses" or even a personal excuse this book makes you think to twice about passing blame. When you take on the extreme ownership mindset you hold yourself accountable. What does this entail? If you are not telling the story of the company and the value prop well enough on meetings you should not blame your boss and wait for the day that they will spoon feed you the right info to magically make you better. You need to take responsibility for yourself and figure it out on your own a necessity for a career in sales.
If you are looking for a no-nonsense book on leadership, full of real world examples from Ramadi to silicon valley, Extreme Ownership is for you.
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