Practice Notes

What's new in the world?

Free Management Library

One website we have bookmarked and refer to is:

It’s a free management library and a useful place to go to find a wide variety of management information. You’ll find short articles, video links and book recommendations. It’s not a bad first port of call.

Joker One: A tale of leadership, courage and brotherhood

We’ve long been interested in the lessons we can learn from military leadership. Here’s a new contribution. The book, Joker One by Donovan Campbell, (New York: Random House, 2009) is the true story of leadership in Iraq. Campbell, a Marine lieutenant, led a platoon of 40 men in Ramadi, where they were involved in some of the heaviest fighting in 2004. His battalion sustained more casualties than any Marine battalion since Vietnam. The name of the platoon was Joker One.

But it’s no tale of individual heroism. Campbell saw the men in his platoon stepping up and doing what needed to be done, including some functions that were his responsibility. They were putting him out front and following, but the leadership was, in many ways, coming from the bottom up. The men were extremely well-trained, deeply committed to their mission, and cared deeply about one another. That was enough to let the group keep functioning even through a leadership slump. Their high functioning pulled the leader back.

As always there are lessons to be learnt from Joker One in the non-military environment.

Put this book on your Christmas wish list. Also check out http://www.joker-one.com/ where you can read the first chapter of the book.