For your digital reading pleasure the critically acclaimed anthology of essays on Mission Command is available at Amazon Kindle store for $9.99. All proceeds after production costs go to Objective Zero, a veteran non-profit dedicated to connecting veterans in need with trained peers. The reviews are coming in and they are favorable:
This anthology accomplishes what dozens of books and official manuals have tried and failed to define; the true meaning of “Mission Command” by revealing in fourteen concise essays the term, originally stated in its German format as Auftragstaktik is a military culture of leadership where “knowledge, independence, and the joy of taking responsibility” reign supreme. The message contained in the pages has utility for not only the military, but in reality all aspects of life by infusing the idea that taking responsibility leads to joy regardless of the circumstances. I would heartily recommend this book to everyone in all branches of the military, as well as the public at large.
I have never served in the military, but I have led personnel in the private sector. This book is based on adaptive leadership and empowerment principles that have worked well in the private sector and provides a case for using it AGAIN in the military. The German Auftragstakik term is a leadership style that can be applied to any form of management. With statements like “Today’s armies are often shackled by the fear of risk, and the inability of command to defer that risk down to the tactical operator” it’s not so different when you peer into the private sector. While this book is geared to military minds, leaders reading this from the private sector will walk away with lessons that they can apply.
