前海豹突击队队员的4条管理经验

阵亡将士纪念日再次到来，我们理应抽出一点时间，追思那些为了保卫国家而牺牲了生命的人。

在我的从军生涯中，我曾接触过几百个领导和单位，执行过各种各样的任务，包括战斗、危机应对以及快速的组织变革等等。我也总结了无数的经验和心得，其中有几条尤为重要，因为它们使我成为了一个更高效的企业领导者：

正确看待危机

首先，你要学会分辨真正的危机和“假警报”。我的从军生涯和参战经历，使我大大提高了危机的判别能力。直升机坠落、火灾、降落伞失灵、舰艇相撞、受伤、死亡……这些经历教会了我如何判明一个需要立即做出反应的真正的危机。

商业世界中的很多危机其实并不是由真实的事件导致的，而是由对未来的恐惧所导致的，实际风险往往要比人们的估计低很多。所以领导者一定要具备分辨真险情和假警报的能力，知道哪些情报是重要的，哪些情况是没有价值的，这样才有助于企业进行客观的决策，增进员工对你的信任。如果一个领导经常被琐碎的事务搞得一惊一乍的，这样的领导是没有人会信任他的。

懂得何时绕过官僚体系

军队有一套庞大的官僚体系，有各种早请示晚汇报的程序。然而军队又离不开这样一套官僚体系，唯有如此，军人才能拿到薪水，训练才能组织起来，飞机才能得到保养，各种报告才能按时提交。军队这样一个庞大复杂的暴力机器必须得有这样一套官僚体系来执行种种职能。这套体系运转得很缓慢，同时也很谨慎，所有领导都要去适应体系，而不是让体系适应他们。

不过有些时候，军队也是讲效率优先的，所有事情都会加速运转——比如“911”事件后的头几周，或是在战机转瞬即逝的时候。在这些情况下，一名高效的领导者必须有一个斗志昂扬的决策网络，有一群以行动为导向的支持者，能够快速行动起来，以应对当前的情势发展，或争取重大的胜利。但领导者在决定何时绕过官僚体系采取行动时也必须小心谨慎，因为如果经常这样做的话，也会耗尽一支队伍的斗志。

钱并不能激励人

薪水或许可以吸引人才、留住人才，但它并不会提高人才的工作热情。军队的薪水只能说是差强人意，也并没有很多额外的补贴。但我还是看到数以百计的军人前赴后继地为国家做出了惊人的牺牲和付出。

我觉得在激励的问题上，军人和非军人是没有太大区别的。老百姓也希望碰上好的领导，希望有一个明确的目标，希望团队有坚实的纽带，这些都比钱更重要。只要这些条件存在，他们就愿意努力工作，对企业报以忠诚和实绩。

投资人才

人才是一个企业最重要的资产。这句话当然是事实，而且它几乎已经被说滥了。不过这句话值得被反复提起。军队的精英管理体系表明，不论来自任何背景的任何一个人，只要有好的领导、好的训练和好的机会，都能达到你无法想象的成就。举个例子：我认识一位最成功和最受尊敬的海豹突击队员，他出身于一个处于弱势地位的少数族裔，接受训练前几乎不会游泳，但他后来却是荣誉等身、备受尊敬，成了海豹突击队中级别最高的领导之一。领导是一种人的艺术，每个人都有发展和成功的潜力。（财富中文网）

本文作者Mike Goshgarian是前美国海豹突击队队员，现为McChrystal集团合伙人。

译者：朴成奎

As Memorial Day rolls around again, we pause to remember those who have sacrificed their lives in defense of our nation.

My own military career exposed me to hundreds of leaders and units, operating in a wide variety of situations, including combat, crisis response, and rapid organizational transformation. My personal lessons and observations are innumerable, but a few key ones stand out because they have helped me become a more effective business leader:

Keep crises in perspective

It’s important to distinguish between a true crisis and an artificial or self-generated crisis. My military experience, especially in wartime, significantly elevated my crisis threshold. Helicopter crashes, incoming fire, parachute accidents, maritime collisions, injury, and death: These experiences have taught me how to identify a real crisis that requires immediate action.

Many of the crises in the business world are driven more by fear of what could happen rather than by actual events, and the real stakes are usually much lower. This ability to recognize what is important from what is not is invaluable in business because it allows for more objective decision-making and builds employees’ confidence in you as a leader. No one trusts a leader who gets rattled by routine events.

Know when to side step the bureaucracy

The military’s huge bureaucracy, with its processes, checks, and balances, ensures that service members are paid, training happens, jets are maintained, reports are filed, etc. Such a vast, complicated machine needs a bureaucracy to execute these functions. The system moves slowly and deliberately, and leaders adapt themselves to its pace.

There are times, however, when events accelerate—the first few weeks after September 11th, for example—or an opportunity suddenly presents itself. In these cases, I’ve learned that an effective leader must have a warm network of decision makers and action-oriented supporters who can move rapidly in order to keep pace with events or to make big wins. But leaders must be savvy and selective about when to side step the bureaucracy, as doing so too often can burn out a team.

Money doesn’t motivate

Compensation may attract and retain, but it doesn’t really motivate. The military pays only modestly, and there aren’t a lot of perks. Yet, I’ve continually observed hundreds of service members’ breathtaking level of personal sacrifice and commitment.

I don’t believe that civilian employees are any different when it comes to motivation. They, too, crave good leadership, a well-defined purpose, and strong team bonds over money, and will respond with hard work, loyalty and achievement when these conditions exist.

Invest in people

It’s a truism—almost a cliché—that people are any organization’s most important asset, but it is so important it bears repeating. The military’s meritocracy demonstrates that anyone from any background can and will respond to good leadership, training, and opportunity, and achieve in ways that you can never predict. Just one example: One of the most respected and accomplished SEALs I know comes from a disadvantaged minority. He could barely swim before beginning training, but went on to be highly decorated, deeply respected, and led at high levels within the SEAL community. Leadership is the business of people, and every single person has the potential to develop and succeed.

Mike Goshgarian is a former U.S. Navy SEAL and partner at McChrystal Group.