Lessons from "No Easy Day"

Without glorifying the American war on terror, or war in general, I consider Operation Geronimo aka Operation Neptune Spear that resulted in the killing of Osama bin Laden (OBL) by a crack team of US Navy Seals, a landmark in the history of special military operations. Pondering on the moral aspects of war, one is reminded of Col Jessop's testimony in the movie “A Few Good Men” that whether we like it or not, the world has walls and boundaries that need to be guarded. Much has been written about the Operation, but “No Easy Day”, a book that claims to be the only first hand account of the mission that killed OBL is a must-read for any observer of contemporary world politics. The book takes us through the professional lifecycle of the Navy Seal author from recruitment, training and the eventual elimination of OBL. In the process, it sheds light on many lessons that could be applied to our own professional lives.

1. Work Breakdown or How do you eat an elephant?

More often than not, we get intimidated by the complexity and volume of work ahead of us. The key is to breakdown the project into smaller, more manageable work packets. The method to eat an elephant is to take one bite at a time.

2. Taking responsibility

To err is human and to blame the error on others is even more so. From school kids to top executives, people try to blame everyone/everything else other than themselves when things go wrong. After overcoming insanely difficult tests for entry into the elite DEVGRU force, the author is asked by the selection panel why his performance is barely meeting the standards. In response, the author takes full responsibility and undertakes to never end up with bare minimum scores. Any other response, such as blaming the test environment would result in instant elimination, as it does not fit with the Navy SEAL ethos. In today's corporate setting, one might encounter temporary setbacks for taking full responsibility. But in the long term, cultivating this trait is indispensable for achieving the goal of self-development.

3. Plan B

Thorough planning is the foundation on which all successful endeavours – civilian or military – are built. Planning could be based on a number of known parameters, but there is always a big chunk of unknowns. The key to success is to thoroughly plan, but not fall in love with the plan. Be a critic of the plan and prepare a Plan B to tackle scenarios that could go wrong. In real life, things hardly pan out exactly the way we plan them, but having a solid Plan B can save the day.

4. Teamwork

One of the stand-out features of a military regiment is the camaraderie and teamwork among the personnel. The highest level of trust is required when you place your life in the hands of a colleague or when your actions can result in life or death of your buddy. A military operation like Operation Neptune Spear is the result of a huge team's labor. Most of the team members are unknown to the world. A small minority basks in the limelight of success. But, that feeling does not deter the true team players from “willingly going into harm's way” to do the job.

Two lessons to take away for us in our own professional lives:

• If you are the foot soldier in the team, think of the mission as being “bigger than yourselves and bigger than all the politics”, and do not worry about who takes the credit for the success.

• If you are the captain of the team, remember to give credit to whom it is due, while you are feted for the success.

5. Paperwork

It ain't over 'til the Paperwork's done. Most often, once the immediate goals of a mission are accomplished, the team members are either too exhausted or exhilarated to complete the documentation. Consequently, the mission lacks “finish” and many key lessons learnt are lost forever. Navy seal missions are matters of life and death and a few moments here or there could inflict heavy costs in terms of human life and strategic advantage. Despite this, a navy seal mission involves Sensitive Site Exploitation (SSE), after the primary target is achieved. This involves photographing the scene, seizing weapons, computers, thumb drives, documents and any other material of significance. The navy seal mission is officially over only after the entire artifacts are handed over to the analysts, back at the base.

6. Checklists
In a typical mission a Navy Seal carries 30-35 Kg of equipment, ranging from bulletproof vests, communication gear, night vision goggles, food, water, batteries etc. Over the years, the laundry list of the equipment they carry has undergone many revisions. For the navy seal, packing his battle gear is a ritual and he goes over the checklists at least twice to ensure that nothing is missed out. In our day-to-day professional lives, creating and updating checklists for important tasks will help us not to miss out on any big/small thing.Imagine receiving a $100K worth of equipment but not receiving the special power cord for the same.

7. Training

What does a Navy SEAL commando do when he is not on a mission? He does three things – training, training and more training. The call to deploy on any part of the world can come at any time and the only way a SEAL can be ready for this is to continuously train so that his reflexes, endurance and skill are sharp and ready for the kill. The take away for us is to utilize the training opportunities for skill upgrading, whenever there is an opportunity.

8. The only easy day was yesterday

The Navy SEAL philosophy is nicely summed up in the phrase “The only easy day was yesterday”. It personifies the Navy SEALs training process, and demonstrates that physical strength is not the only thing that a recruit can rely on since each day of the process grows ever more difficult. I am not fully decided on how to imbibe this lesson personally or professionally. The optimist in me tells me that there is value in believing that tomorrow will be brighter. The pessimist/realist in me finds a lot of truth in the belief that tomorrow will be tougher. Take your pick!