Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

An Army business reading list, and Special Ops lessons for business

I admit it. I was prepared to scoff, because too many times I have seen military officers recommend today’s pop favorite biz book. But I found this a surprisingly good list.

Screen Shot 2015-05-28 at 10.56.18 AM
Screen Shot 2015-05-28 at 10.56.18 AM

I admit it. I was prepared to scoff, because too many times I have seen military officers recommend today’s pop favorite biz book. But I found this a surprisingly good list.

I admit it. I was prepared to scoff, because too many times I have seen military officers recommend today’s pop favorite biz book. But I found this a surprisingly good list.

Also, this just in: Chris Fussell has a good piece in Harvard Business Review on some lessons of Special Ops leadership. The most interesting lesson:

Lead from the middle. Finally, break the top-down tradition by pulling yourself, as a leader, into the middle of the network. Rather than being the collector of all information and the choke point for all guidance, today’s leaders need to see themselves as conduits of information who act as the central hub. It’s not your job to control everything; instead, create an environment where cross-boundary relationships can grow and those closest to the problem are empowered to move with speed and precision.”

In other military news, the Defense Department mistakenly shipped live anthrax via FedEx.

Shane Huang/Flickr

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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