The author, COL Thomas J Gordon USMC (Ret), said “Though I am presenting these maxims as leadership tactics, techniques, and procedures, I do not pretend that they will make you a good leader –Marines see through insincere ploys and hollow rhetoric.” Just reading a book on golf will not make you a good golfer, and just reading about leadership will not make you a better leader. Without authenticity, the application of any leadership maxim will come across as contrived. There is nothing Marines will not do to accomplish their mission including making the ultimate sacrifice –if they believe in their mission, but most of all if their leaders genuinely care for them.

COL Gordon shared the 50 Marine Maxims with the officers of the 1^ST Tank Battalion, the unit he had commanded, during a Marine Leadership Retreat. His intent was to “pay it forward” and provide his leaders with a leadership primer they could build on during their career in the Corps or as a civilian later in life.

I.   LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY

• Know thyself. John Maxwell said, “Leadership is an inside job.” When you are bigger on the inside than the outside, the outside cannot control the inside. When you find yourself in unfamiliar terrain, you turn to your moral compass. When you calibrate your moral compass, you will know what to do when faced with a tough call. Get to know your inner self. Find a test that equates temperament with color: Red (sanguine), yellow (choleric), green (melancholic), and blue (phlegmatic). Take the Myers-Briggs Type Test. Marines take the Keirsey Temperament II Sorter to know how they are perceived by others.
• It is not about you. Once a Marine’s title includes “commander,” they are judged by are how well their commands perform and how well they care for their Marines. They are responsible for everything the unit does or fails to do. LT GEN George Flynn said “Leadership is about taking responsibility for those entrusted to your care and placing their needs above your own.” The only privileges Marine commanders accept are to lead and to serve. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said arrogant commanders are toxic, lack empathy, uninspiring, and drain their unit’s energy. John Gordon says the best leaders make people around them better, and leave a legacy. Success, fame, fortune, money, power, prestige are temporary, and not the right fuel to make a great leader.
• Marines don’t care how much you know but will know how much you care. COL Gordon would ask his adjutant those who outpace and put in more effort than the rest. He would send a letter to their parents for “raising such a fine Marine.” That evening, when the parents call their Marine and tell them about the letter, the Marine returns to work the next day doing twice as much, twice as fast. If they were in leadership positions, they would pull their teams faster. The “letter bomb” is effective because it connects the “what” with the “why.” Marines join the Corps to make their parents proud. Recognizing hard-chargers greatly increases returns in productivity and commitment.
• Do right and fear no man. Right means each Marine should do what they ought to do: lead with character even when it is hard. If progress compels you to compromise your integrity, stop. The courageous are not the first to see but the first to do. Integrate values into your actions and never fear the consequences of well-intentioned failure. Doing the right thing means not compromising on standards. Integrity requires consistent adherence to values. It is an absolute. If you have integrity, that is all that matters. This includes trusting and empowering subordinates to deviate from the plan as fundamental to the Marine warfighting philosophy.
• Organizations move at the speed of trust. In the Peloponnesian Wars, the Spartan phalanx was the most effective fighting formation because the interlocking shields protected each infantryman and the hoplite to his left. It was the collective security provided by the shields that made the phalanx so formidable. There is trust when members of your organization assume good intent. Tremendous efficiency and agility can be achieved. Where there is a lack of trust, members are slow to act and suspicious of the leadership. Leadership is a relationship founded on trust. Without trust, people don’t take risks. Without risk, there can be no improvement.
• Your greatest Impact will be on the ends of the bell curve. Instead of reinforcing the superstars, we often commit our resources to propping up the weaker elements of the command despite knowing in combat we should never commit reserves to reinforce failure, but rather to fortify success. John Maxwell wrote that leaders who focus on the leaders in their organization are not concerned with fairness. They concentrate on the top 10%, and the entire organization reaps the benefits. By empowering your “lead sled dogs,” they pull harder. If they pull harder, the whole team will run faster.
• If you treat them like an adult, they will act like adults. When a commander communicates his confidence in his NCOs’ judgment and responsibility, it creates the Pygmalion effect: emboldened by their commander’s confidence, NCOs strive to validate the commander’s respect. The inverse is equally true – we demoralize our NCOs when our rules and behavior communicate that we don’t believe they are responsible. John Maxwell said that rules, consequences, and punishment do not get people moving. They just keep them from doing their worst. Trust begets trust. To get Marines to act more responsibly, give them responsibility. Trust is later achieved through reciprocity.
• Do routine things routinely. Make it a point to incorporate leadership style into daily routine and insist that every corporal and above do the same. For every leader, there are 5 tasks to be accomplished. Doing these tasks daily will change the culture of command. But you can come up with your own routine.
• Find a Marine doing a good job and thank him. This provides the opportunity to be grateful. Andy Stanley once said, “Unexpressed gratitude is ingratitude.”
• Find a problem and fix it. If you tell the Marines you are willing to challenge the status quo to make the unit more ready and agile, they will quickly talk you into target and identify stupid rules and needless tasks for elimination.
• Teach something. Probably the quickest way a young NCO can establish credibility and have a positive impact on the unit is by passing on the knowledge he has acquired. Done right, the NCO develops leadership.
• Learn something. There is no excuse for a lack of study. Leaders like Van Riper, Mattis, and McCoy view professional military education as a moral imperative. Lifelong learning, John Kotter states, is the single most reliable predictive factor concerning an executive’s future potential. Lifelong learners combine their innate abilities and life experiences with competitive drive. This desire to do well leads them to seek out new information and build new skills through education and self-study. This drive produces a competitive capacity, one capable of dealing with today’s competitive and fast moving professional environment.
• How can I help? Leveraging the authority of your office, to reduce a friction point in the chain of command or break down bureaucratic inertia, can transform the culture of an organization. Authenticity to help is key. Marines can tell if you are not sincere or truthful.

II.   TOXIC LEADERSHIP

• Don’t be an ass! Leaders can be an inspirational leader, or be Machiavellian and lead by manipulation. Leadership by fear and intimidation is the lowest form of leadership. In the fleet, your Marines will do exactly what you tell them to do and nothing more. Positive and negative leaders can both achieve the goal of discipline in their units. The differences are “how” (means) and “what kind” of leadership was employed. Whether a unit is disciplined or not can be ascertained by who enforces the discipline, not how stringently it is enforced. A well-led unit polices itself, regardless of the proximity of the commander. Its members are proud Marines for what they have achieved.
• Bad leaders drive out good ones. LT GEN Flynn once said that people are not willing to sacrifice for toxic leaders. This lack of trust and commitment puts the mission at risk. If you cannot reconcile your duty and loyalty with your integrity, you must resign. Fortunately, by the time the Marine Corps went to war again after 9/11, most of the toxic senior leaders had moved on. Today, Marines still suffer toxic leaders but the institution is aware and taking action. From January 2014 to March 2017, there were 21 commanders relieved for toxic leadership and command-climate issues. Loyalty indeed is a two-way street.

III.   BUILDING COHESION

• That point where everyone else sucks. Cohesion is the most revealing indicator of the quality of leadership within an organization. Units that lack cohesion often lack clarity in their mission. Cohesion requires a common purpose or foe. The Esprit de Corps is the glue that binds a unit together It is difficult to achieve progress in any other metric of effective leadership without it. This is what Navy Seals have. Cohesive units police themselves; have a high degree of trust because they feel secure; and have commitment to the mission including how the organization intends to accomplish it. Buy-in swells from the bottom up. Cohesive units take pride in what they do and are fiercely loyal. In combat, cohesion prevents fear from turning into panic, propels Marines forward through inconceivable adversity, resilience, lethality, and the will to win against all odds. Military soldiers from cohesive units are less likely to suffer PTSD and can move rapidly through post-combat recovery. Cohesive units are less likely to commit war crimes.
• Make winning a habit. Marines are aggressive by nature, and by tapping into their competitive ethos you can rapidly forge a team. You must dedicate the resources needed to win, or do not bother at all. Winning builds momentum. Look for opportunities for your people to work together, not against each other. Joining a competition is a great tool for building cohesiveness but cooperation will always trump competition.

IV.   INSTILL THE WILL

• True grit: one more, one more time. Grand Master Joe Esposito’s martial arts group classes were renowned for intensity. When his students have been pushed to exhaustion, Joe always found a way to summon “one more, one more time” at the decisive moment. Those training sessions left an indelible mark on COL Gordon and later influenced how he trained the Marines. Malcolm Gladwell wrote, “Success is a function of persistence and doggedness -it is not innate; it is an attitude.” Angela Duckworth says perseverance is grit. Gritty leaders, “those highly accomplished paragons of persistence,” are the most determined. They are optimists, who believe in themselves and the mission. Their optimism creates a self-fulfilling prophecy that drives their resolve. They can sustain a little longer than their opponent can. That extra little bit is all that matters in war.
• Embrace the suck. “Unity is forged, not forced” wrote Kouzes and Posner. Alexander the Great knew the value of strenuous training in building his army. Leadership by example was Alexander’s position out in front of his men, sharing their misery. Wherever the friction is greatest and the conditions are worst, that is where you must position yourself. The 1^ST Tank Battalion in the Mojave Desert was intense. When the Marines discovered their commander was with them in the mud filling sandbags, they asked why. The Commander replied, “Embracing the suck!” When leaders have emotional intelligence, they are attuned to the morale of the command and know how to uplift their unit. Dr. Daniel Goleman calls this Resonant Leadership. An attuned leader’s message vibrates through a command, while a resonant leader communicates with more signal and less noise.

V.   INSTILING DISCIPLINE

• There can be no morale without attrition. Identify, address, and document toxic leadership, then dismiss the leader. Do not delay or second guess yourself. No one is bigger than the team. Marines should not have to suffer toxic leaders. Some junior leaders just don’t get it, and there is a limit to what you can do to correct poor leadership. Enron had epitomized the “talent mindset” philosophy. Internal competition encouraged employees to prove they were smarter than their peers. The result was a narcissistic culture that rewarded deception and discouraged integrity. By the time of its demise, Enron leaders were the most smug and insecure show-offs in the court room.
• Praise, Correct, Praise. Effective counseling -the ability to correct Marines’ behavior without crushing their spirit- is the hallmark of a mature and caring leader. The most painful statement a Marine officer could ever say to you is “You really disappointed me today.” A counseling like that from a good leader would leave you wishing they had chewed you out instead, and hoping you could make it up soon. However, frequent, inconsequential critiques can be destructive to leadership development, morale, and the command climate. When correcting, make it clear that your message is understood.
• Enforce all the standards all the time. MAJ GEN Bob Scales USA (Ret) wrote that one bad soldier acting badly can do damage a battalion can’t undo. The solution lies in consistent application of discipline. If you allow a field vs. garrison mindset to arise at home station, it will carry over at deployment. Letting Marines act differently in the field, means they can act differently in combat. When you see a problem, focus on those leaders not enforcing discipline than on the errant soldier. Deployed to Iraq’s Sunni Triangle in 2005, 1^ST Platoon, Bravo Company broke down. Undue pressure from insurgents plunged them into indiscipline, drug abuse, and brutality –4 Marines raped a 14 year old Iraqi girl, and executed her whole family.

VI.   INCREASING PROFICIENCY

• People do what people see. Whatever you do –never quit. Marines will admire a leader who gives their all. But, if they ever see you quit, you are dead to them. There is a theory called “The Law of the Led,” which holds that an organization’s performance is limited by the proficiency of its leader. Marines will follow with their eyes and ears, searching for congruence, authenticity, and integrity then decide if you are worth following. Alexander the Great’s favored battle formation was the diamond. At the forward point is the king. Alexander used this formation for his cavalry charges as it gave the best view of their leader’s heroism. Seeing his valor out front lit a fire in the men’s hearts. To witness this selflessness is compelling, and more men will join the fight.
• Balanced excellence. Here are the pillars of the best training philosophies used by the Marine Corps:
• • Mental: History is a religion to Marines. As a company commander, gather the platoon commanders around a sand table where you could fashion a terrain model. Do this regularly on a specific day of the week. The Lieutenants could dissect a particular historical battle and then replay how the company would fight it today.
  • Physical: Severe physical fatigue can make Marines vulnerable to afflictions. An effective Physical Therapy (PT) regime focused on combat conditioning and functional fitness can prepare Marines for the rigors of combat and inoculate them against some stressors. Done effectively, a good PT program develops junior NCOs, builds cohesion, and increases stamina and resiliency. But overdone and unchecked, it can devolve into hazing and needless injury to Marines. The Marine Corps Martial Arts Program builds confidence, stamina, and relevant skills. The NCOs sent to the martial arts instructor (MAI) course return infused with more unit leadership and instructor skills than any professional military education in the Marine curriculum.
  • Spiritual: You can incorporate spiritual fitness and build resilience within the command without proselytizing. Tactical decision-making exercises can include ethical decision-making problems. By thinking through ethical problems with your leaders beforehand, you can ensure they have a better appreciation of the second and third effects of their decisions, and where you, as their commander, sit on particular issues.
  • Technical: Tankers are in the business of putting “steel on target.” All of these Marines’ tactical genius means little if they cannot hit what they are shooting at. The key is preparation and conditioning. As a battalion commander, assess the degree of technical proficiency of a given unit by the presence or absence of a boresight panel in its assemble areas. For Marines not on a tank crew, emphasize combat marksmanship. Known distance marksmanship training is great for entry-level training and cutting scores, but its relation to combat proficiency is limited. To be effective, marksmanship training should be conducted in combat conditions and in full kit. In combat, it is not enough to hit a target. Gunnery teams have to hit the right target, as directed.
  • Tactical: Battle drills reduce fear by increasing confidence and proficiency through repetition, by instilling reflexive responses to likely threats. Drills, repeated until they become instinctive, enable tactical teams to reduce the cycle time dramatically between identifying and defeating a target. The best tank crews can deliver steel on a target within a few short seconds of identifying as all its members instinctively do their part. At platoon and company levels, units with effective SOP can rapidly respond to contact with a decisive maneuver.
• Brilliance in the basics. Well-led units are excellent in the ordinary. The intent of individual skills training is to create what GEN James Mattis calls Habit of Action. The repetition in individual skill training creates a primal implicit learning. The Marine’s brain gets rewired. Carl Von Clausewitz wrote, “Habit hardens the body for great exertions, strengthens the heart in great peril, and fortifies the judgment against first impressions. Habit brings a quality of calm that lightens the Commander’s task.” Basic Marine training is rooted in operant conditioning, e.g., marksmanship and combative training. LT COL Dave Grossman says the risk of death or serious injury is still an effective negative operant for tactical training.
• Complacency kills. Military leaders must never forget that what worked on the battlefield once is unlikely to work again. Stagnation and complacency are not only strategic vulnerabilities: they ruin strong battalions and companies every day. When everything is going very well, be concerned. Success is temporary and the antidote to complacency is change, not for its own sake but for continuous improvement leading to professional growth or competitive advantage. GEN Mattis told the 1^ST Marine Division before their return into Iraq in 2003, “We must think like men of action and act like men of thought.”

VII. PERSONAL DEELOPMENT

• Find Your Blind Spots. Success is an intoxicant that can blind us to your weaknesses. When leaders know where they need to improve, professional growth can occur. When pride becomes self-righteousness, we become blind. Thus, the greatest source of strength of Marine pride can also be their most treacherous weakness. High brass attestations being receptive to dissent is unproven. Micah Zenko cites that War College surveys of COLs show that successful officers in the U.S. Army score much lower than the regular civilian on openness to new ideas. Ironically, the group selected for strategic and critical thinking abilities is the most closed-minded in the military.
• A smart man knows when he is stupid. Thomas Jefferson said, “He who knows the most, knows how little he knows.” Predictive hubris is the fallacy of believing that something is going to happen just because it happened that way before. In contrast, David Salt ascribes to resilience thinking – his model embraces humility by recognizing that true knowledge is knowing that we do not know. Andrew Carnegie says it is a sign of poor leadership to aspire to be the smartest guy in the room. Having taken courses at both Harvard’s Kennedy School and MIT, COL Gordon attests that there is a clear cultural divide between these two learned institutions. At Harvard, there was an air of pretentiousness in every class. Students would respond to questions and share their opinions with little cross talk or peer review. Each student believes to be the smartest in the room, but does not want to provoke a contentious debate that may expose the limits of their knowledge. The atmosphere at MIT downriver was different. MIT students regularly engaged in cantankerous debates. Should students state wrongly considered informed opinions, their peers would brutally critique them without animosity or pretense. In the Marine Corps’ list of leadership traits, humility is conspicuously absent.
• Don’t allow the urgent to displace the important. An organization’s most precious resource is its people. As a leader, your most precious resource is your time. It is the one thing that you can’t make more of, and you can never get back what you squander. The best commanders and executives know this, and “don’t allow the urgent to displace the important.” If you do not have enough time to accomplish your tasks, create a “do not do list.” John Maxwell argues that leaders should spend most of their time where they are most valuable to their organization. CEO’s should spend time doing what only they can do. Everything else should be delegated.
• The eight-year rule. Take leave. Leave work early to catch your child’s recital, track meet, or lacrosse game. Just as you are there for your platoon, so should you be present for your spouse and children. LT COL John Bradley was a superior battalion commander. His units were tight and had the fewest disciplinary issues among the 5 battalions. But when he was selected to Top Level School, a shoe-in for Colonel, LT COL Bradley turned it down, and retired to be with his children. This was not an easy decision, but in doing so, he truly lived the 8-year rule. What do you want to be in 8 years? What do look forward to?
• Keep little people little. Be careful how you acknowledge malcontents as you might inadvertently empower to legitimize their malfeasance. The loudest voices of discontent do not necessarily represent the majority. So do not focus the command’s energies on the bottom 2%. Those without character to accept responsibility for poor performance or misconduct will redirect blame for their transgressions onto the chain of command. Their reflexive response is to lie, deny, or counter-accuse. The target of counter-accusations is an individual perceived to be applying the most pressure on them. When the chain of command receives a counter-allegation, it is obligated to investigate. Your closeness or separation from the issue determines if you will investigate, or will be investigated.

VIII. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

• If you have to tell people you’re in charge, you’re not. The power to influence -to inspire- does not come from an appointment or assignment; it comes from your character. Andy Stanley says that great leaders rarely leverage their position; they leverage their moral authority. Moral authority is derived through character, which is the will to do what is right regardless of cost; the will to sacrifice personal resources and time spent building one’s moral authority over a long span of time. Leaders exude moral authority when they undergo the same hazards of danger and hardship that their people are going through.
• With great power comes great responsibility. Marines are taught from Day 1 that command is a privilege. With this privilege comes the burden of responsibility. Servant leaders do not pursue success, they pursue significance. Significance is seen in leaders who desire to see others succeed. By letting subordinates assume more tasks, a leader is able to expand his influence in other areas. When you properly delegate a task, you develop a good follower. But when you delegate authority, you develop a good leader. If you want to turn an Alpha group into a cohesive team, group them in three’s and they will cooperate; group them in two’s and sparks will fly. In the Marines, you can delegate authority but you can never delegate responsibility.
• Watch your pronoun. Perform a self-assessment and ask yourself, “Are you the guy who takes responsibility or who takes credit?” When something goes wrong, what pronoun do you use –I or they? The ones who know how to take responsibility use “I” even if they are not at fault, while the ones who like to avoid blame will use “they” even if it is their responsibility. Leaders never assess blame, they take responsibility.

IX.   TAKING COMMAND

• The two most screwed-up people in the marine corps. They are the guy you replaced and they guy who replaced you. Jim Collins’ team studied what distinguishes great companies from among the firms listed on Fortune 500 from 1965-95. The pinnacle of leadership called the Level V Executive built enduring greatness through a blend of personal humility and professional will. Level V CEOs were concerned with the success of the company than their own ambitions. The Level IVs set their successors up for failure or picked weak successors. John Maxwell said a leader’s lasting value is measured by succession.
• Marines who know where they are going are easy to lead. Having goals do not get you where you need to be. Commitment to goals is what takes you higher. John Kotter said some people don’t lead their lives, they accept it. COL Gordon believes it is the obligation of every leader to know, help set their goals; give encouragement to draft a mission statement, and ask where they see themselves in 5 years. Warren Buffett asked his pilot to list 25 career goals. The pilot was unsure what he wanted, but he didn’t want to fly jets for the rest of his life. Buffet counseled the pilot to circle the top 5 and ignore the rest.
• Know and meet standards. For generations, Marine officers have failed to define the standard properly. If you want to learn how standards can drive readiness, talk to a Marine pilot. Everything from flight hours to maintenance can be traced back to a published standard. Every function within the Marine aircraft wing can be measured against the appropriate training and readiness (T&R) standard. In the wing, these standards drive resources. Do not make arbitrary and unreasonable standards. Metrics should be used as a tool to evaluate, not to prop up your unit. Find someone who can help set standards for your unit.
• Can do easy. Anyone who has ever worked in close proximity with the British Royal Marines can attest that they personify the “can do easy” mindset. Cheerfulness and a positive attitude in the face of adversity are the essence of the Royal Marine commando culture. “Embrace the suck” resonates well with Marines. They do not want it easy, and they welcome challenge. Marines welcome hardship they share together provided there is a purpose to their misery. Be the unit that says “yes” to an assignment. A unit’s reputation is a good indicator of proficiency. Guard yours like your career depends upon it.
• When in charge, take charge. Unity of command, the first principle of warfare, remains as paramount today as it was in Napoleon’s day. The complex, combined, and joint operations require absolute clarity as to who is in charge, who is supported, and who is supporting. The authority to conduct contingency operations is derived from the highest level of government and is deliberately delegated down. It is crucial that the agency responsible for the execution of a critical task has the authority necessary to accomplish it. If you discover that someone has authority but is not responsible or is responsible but doesn’t have authority, the policy or plan violates the first principle.
• Command and feedback. Ken Blanchard wrote, “servant leaders welcome constructive criticism.” You need to seek honest feedback because people are reluctant to provide it until you establish trust. Before people will tell you what you need to hear, they need to know you will listen, and will not hold their statements against them. Identify the truth tellers in your unit and protect them. Andy Stanley said leaders who don’t listen are later surrounded by people with nothing to say. John Wooden said, “Listen, learn, then lead.” After a survey, provide feedback, an action plan, and milestones to rectify the main issues.
• Spartan spouses. Leonidas selected 300 Spartans for his stand against the Persians at Thermopylae. He picked them because of their wives’ stoic resolve. Leonidas knew they would not return and it would be up to the women to rally Sparta to war. You need to find “Spartan Spouses” within the command, recognize, and empower them. Marines spend more time in combat than at home. The commander must ensure the unit’s families are as ready as the Marines. We provided a T-Shirt with the unit crest on the front and “SPARTAN SPOUSE” printed across the back. The Marine wives wore it with pride.
• Pin it where you win it. People repeat behavior that is rewarded. Management science research attests that rewards are most effective when they are highly specific and in close proximity to the behavior. Intrinsic motivation or fulfillment is limited only by the leader. In the Marine Corps, it is not what gets rewarded gets done but rather “What is rewarding gets done.” However, rewarding mediocrity is counterproductive.
• The best legal advice I ever received was to get good legal advice. Your judge advocate will help you determine whether a course of action is legally permissible. Doing the right thing entails more than just being legally compliant. Marines will expect decisions from you as commander, to be just and wise, not just legal. Ensure that all who observe the hearing, including the Marine, depart with an understanding that the process was fair and just. As commander, your mission is to maintain good order and discipline while ensuring the Marine receives due process. Focus on process, and listen to your judge advocate.

X.   COMMUNICATION

• You said It, but that doesn’t mean they heard it. Pastor Craig Groeschel said, “We impress people with our strengths and connect with people with our weaknesses. Be yourself. People will follow a leader who is always real; not a leader who is always right.” Abraham Lincoln used parables to get his message across, subtly but effectively, instead of confronting hostile congressmen. When addressing an elite audience, employ self-deprecating humor to introduce yourself. People expect Marine Officers to display self-confidence, but if you put in some humility, you can make a lasting connection.
• The E in “email” stands for evidence. Deleting your emails does not mean they have gone away. Someone can bring them back to life. There is also value in maintaining a professional Facebook account. You will be able to “friend” Marines in your command and join various other “groups.” You cannot afford not to be on social media. It may expose commanders to security threats and identity theft, but abstaining denies them crucial feedback and an extensive sensor network. Failure to know and properly address issues because you decline to engage in social media will have severe consequences later.

XI.   LEADING THROUGH CRISIS/FAILURE

• The first report is always wrong. In a chaotic and undisciplined environment, information is often passed on before it is verified. Nothing moves faster than bad information. As a young major, COL Gordon was with Joint Operations Center floor during multiple commander’s update briefs when his staff erroneously reported that Saddam Hussein had been captured. This debacle was repeated no less than 4 times before the 4^TH Infantry Division finally rolled him up on 13-Dec-2003. When first reporting an incident, always caveat it with “This is an initial report” and don’t be the junior commander with a secret.
• Bad things can and will happen to good units. Do not lose control and do not allow others to lose control in a crisis. Remove from combat anyone yelling or screaming. In September 2012, 15 Taliban insurgents dressed as U.S. soldiers breached the perimeter of Camp Bastion, Afghanistan; destroyed a squadron of VV8-B fighter attack-aircrafts, killed 2 Marines and the squadron commander. It was the same squadron that lost 7 Wildcat aircrafts parked in Wake Island in WWII. As the commanding general, decisively address the security challenges, and quickly restore the air combat capacity.
• Failure is the tuition we pay for success. COL Gordon told his Marines as part of risk management, “You can make mistakes, but you can’t repeat the last one.” To rekindle the innovativeness that defined the Marine Corps in WWI & WWII, we will need to build and sustain a culture where leaders are more afraid of missing opportunities than failing. Frederick the Great said, “The smart learn from their mistakes; the wise learn from the mistakes of others.” Fixing mistakes before reporting them never ends well. The cover-up is worse than the crime.

XII.  ON CHARACTER

• Talent can get you to the top, but only character will keep you there. “Watch your thoughts for they become words, watch your words for they become actions, watch your actions, for they become habits, watch your habits for they become your character, watch your character for it becomes your destiny.” Lord Moran said character is a habit, a daily choice of right over wrong; a moral quality growing to maturity in peace and not suddenly developed at the outbreak of war. War has no power to transform, it merely exaggerates the good and evil in us, until it is plain for all to see; it cannot change, it exposes. Man’s fate in battle is worked out even before war begins.
• The disease to please. Conviction of purpose is the cure to this disease. Belief in your cause creates conviction; belief in your vision creates inspiration. In the end, your motivation comes from belief in your people, says John Maxwell. But familiarity breeds contempt. When you get too close, difficult decisions become even harder. Admiral James Stavridis wrote, “Nothing is more dangerous than a subordinate who will shade or alter the truth in order to curry favor or impress the boss.” To lead with character requires an officer to speak truth to power, and do what is right at all times. The truth will always come out.

XIII. SOME DOS & DON’TS

• Don’t expect what you don’t inspect. The line between micromanagement and proper supervision should never be fixed. The degree of supervision should be dependent on the experience level of and confidence in your subordinates. There is nothing wrong with supervising different people differently. Knowing the capabilities and limitations of your people is a Marine Corps leadership principle. Craig Goeschel said the degree of supervision should change as the unit matures. Supervision changes once you set the tone and expectations.
• Don’t be in a hurry to make a bad decision. Malcolm Gladwell suggests that in straightforward choices, a deliberate analysis is best, but when there are multiple variables, our unconscious intuitive process may be superior. He believes that intuition, when combined with experience and fused with other sources of data, is superior to the output of deliberate decision-making processes. Failure to make timely and accurate decisions will erode your credibility as a commander. Your subordinate commanders will grow frustrated with your indecisiveness.
• Don’t make enemies but if you do, don’t treat them lightly. In Maxim 26 (Keep little people little), remember the loudest dissenters do not necessarily represent the majority. Maintain a positive command climate by weeding the negative influencers in the organization, and feeding the positive ones. When conflicts occur, there are recourses for grievances. As a subordinate, you are expected to resolve conflicts with your seniors. If you cannot accommodate them or bring them to see your position, and believe you can no longer execute your duty in good conscience, you can resign.
• I don’t have all the answers, but I do know the questions. John Maxwell wrote, “You only get answers to the questions you ask.” When asking questions, focus on where you want the conversation to go. General questions rarely lead to specific answers, and it often takes 3-7 follow-up questions to get to the root of an issue. By asking subordinates “What do you think?,” you can confirm or challenge your intuition. It can also be a good metric to assess their intellect or judgment. And if you know a senior officer is coming to speak to your unit, ensure that a few junior officers have an intelligent question to ask.

XIV. FINAL THOUGHT

• If the boss is not having fun, no one Is having fun! There is much suffering in the Marines. When this suffering is shared by the unit, it builds cohesion and esprit. When Marines witness their leaders sharing their discomfort, their commitment and respect for the command grows. Contentment comes from within. Every man’s happiness is his own responsibility. If success is what you are pursuing, you will never be satisfied. Don’t define your success by rank or position. Fulfillment occurs when you have made a significant impact on people you serve.

RECOMMENDATION. The book “Marine Maxims – Turning Leadership Principles into Practice“ authored by COL Thomas J Gordon USMC (Ret) and published by USNI is a thoughtfully written book about how to be a good leader. The book gives the reader a perspective of how Marines are taught to think to get better results. These maxims focus on developing character, courage, and will to become inspiring leaders who build cohesive units. By adding perseverance and resilience to the mix, you get the construct of a good combat leader. The author, a former Marine Commander himself, has now given the civilian readers their own equivalent of the Marine Corps’ “Green Book” through these 50 Marine Maxims, to hopefully be able to apply these leadership tactics to their own organization. But above all, that which is most important is to pass these maxims on, and “pay them forward.