The Need to Lead: A TOPGUN Instructor’s Lessons on How Leadership Solves Every Challenge
About this ebook
The Need to Lead invokes the classic Top Gun movie quote. It is also an undeniable truth that author Dave Berke experienced as a Marine Corps officer, fighter pilot, TOPGUN instructor and ground combat leader fighting alongside Jocko and Leif in Iraq. Today he works at their leadership training company Echelon Front. This book, based on his experiences in combat and TOPGUN training as well as teaching organizations around the world, helps readers be better leaders and understand that leadership is a universal requirement for success, no matter the environment.
By adopting the right leadership mindsets and behaviors, we gain the capacity to solve problems, support the people around us, and amend our mistakes. How do we develop these necessary skills? By embracing the principles imparted to Berke from each humbling moment in the cockpit:
* EVERYONE IS A LEADER: From the CEO to the most junior employee, everyone at every level, is a leader. Leadership isn't about rank, title, position, or function. The more people see themselves as leaders, the more they want to contribute to the team's success.
* LEADERSHIP EXISTS IN EVERY CAPACITY: Leadership is often viewed as an attribute relevant to our professional lives, but it exists in every capacity, it applies in every situation. The same behaviours should guide us as parents, spouses, family members, and friends of all kinds.
* EVERY PROBLEM WE FACE IS A LEADERSHIP PROBLEM: The problems we confront at work aren't caused by external factors. They are caused by our failure to lead. If a lack of leadership is the problem, and good leadership is the solution, then how we lead becomes the most critical factor affecting the outcome.
* LEADERSHIP IS A SKILL: Good leaders aren't simply born. Leadership can be learned, which means every single person in the world can get better at it if they choose. This book is their guide.
*And much more!
Through compelling stories from TOPGUN training and combat to the boardroom and at home, Berke gives readers the necessary tools to succeed.
About the author
DAVE BERKE is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, fighter pilot, and ground combat leader. A seasoned F/A-18 Hornet pilot, Dave deployed twice aboard aircraft carriers in support of combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. He became an Instructor Pilot at TOPGUN, where he qualified in the F-16 Fighting Falcon and served as the Training Officer, the senior instructor at TOPGUN. He went on to serve as a Forward Air Controller, become the only Marine ever to fly the F-22 Raptor, and command the world's first F-35B squadron. Since transitioning from the military, Dave has continued to apply his leadership expertise as the Chief Development Officer at Echelon Front, where he advises, instructs, and speaks on leadership and personal growth.
JOCKO WILLINK was a Navy SEAL for 20 years, rising through the ranks to become commander of Task Unit Bruiser-the most decorated Special Operations unit of the Iraq War. After retiring, Willink continued on the disciplined path of success, co-founding Echelon Front, a premier leadership and management consulting company, writing the #1 New York Times bestsellers Extreme Ownership; Leadership Strategy and Tactics; Discipline Equals Freedom; and The Way of the Warrior Kid children's series. He created and hosts the top-rated podcast, Jocko Podcast, and is also a principal at several highly successful companies, including JOCKO FUEL and Origin USA.
