The Marine Corps Way: Using Maneuver Warfare to Lead a Winning Organization

Fostering Boldness in Your Organization

• Analyze everything in terms of risk-reward trade-offs.

  • Calculated risk taking steers bold actions away from desperate recklessness.

• (Probability of Success x Potential payout ) “ (Probability of failure x Potential cost of failure) = Expected outcome

  • Other key decision-making parameters include time to completion, magnitude of upside vs. that of downside, cost of exit, and ability to exit.

  • Leverage your experience and the expertise of your people to refine the inputs.

  • Proactively take steps to mitigate the risk associated with the risk-reward trade-offs that you face.

• Do not be afraid to defy consensus if your analysis and instincts support a divergent viewpoint.

• Train employees to make decisions and to act decisively no matter how incomplete their information.

  • 80 Percent Rule: any decision made with more than 80 percent of the necessary information is hesitation.

• Foster an obligation to dissent among those in your charge, especially during the decision-making process.

• Reward initiative ”both successful and unsuccessful .

  • Do you hand out toilet seat awards?

• Correct mistakes that stem from bold zeal; punish indecision, timidity, or lapses in judgment/integrity.

• And when all else fails, remember that it is better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission. Nevertheless, be cognizant of how your actions fit into the larger context.