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James Citrin
Leader, CEO Practice at Spencer Stuart and Author, The Five Patterns of Extraordinary Careers

26 Posts

73,598 followers

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The No. 1 Lesson from Navy SEALs: 'Don't Quit in Anticipation of Future Failure'
May 07, 2014

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I had the opportunity recently to meet with Admiral Eric T. Olson, U.S. Navy (Retired), who had reached the pinnacle of leadership in the United States military. After a career as a U.S. Navy SEAL*, he served as the Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) from 2007 to 2011. He was the first Navy SEAL and naval officer ever to be appointed to be SOCOM's commander where he had overall responsibility for the most elite units of the U.S. military, including the Army Rangers and Special Forces, the Navy SEALs, and their special operations counterparts in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps. Following his distinguished career in public service, he has moved into the private sector and brings his worldwide experience to the boards of Under Armour and Iridium Communications. In our conversation Admiral Olson shared some insights from Navy SEAL training that are powerfully applicable to anyone in their career, from a 20-something trying to get on the right path, to a mid-career professional striving to accelerate progress, to a top-executive attempting to navigate an organization to success. The headline is as simple as it is profound. "If you want to make it through Navy SEAL training," Admiral Olson shared, "don't quit." Let me elaborate. Here's the question I posed to the Admiral: "Among the group of super high achievers who comprise the U.S. Navy SEALs, what is it about those that make it through the demanding training and thrive compared to those who don't make the cut?" First he explained the attributes, which while important, aren't inherently different from any other discussion of success. The standout SEALs are driven, have focus, always want to be better, are problem solvers who look at things from different angles... But the light bulb went

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on when Admiral Olson talked about a study that the SEALs did a few years ago to try and understand this very question. The Navy knew well that most of the qualified and motivated candidates who started the SEAL training didn't finish. Most quit and they wanted to know when and why. It turned out that the vast majority didn't quit when they were out braving the cold, wet or otherwise inhospitable conditions. They didnt quit in the middle of the demanding and stressful exercises. Most quit over breakfast or lunch. They quit in anticipation of the difficult conditions to come. They self-eliminated, not because they didn't have the abilities to perform the tasks, but because they feared that the coming challenges would be too difficult and they would then fail (and fail in front of their classmates). So the Navy then studied the backgrounds of those who made it through and they found some other curious factors that combine to help predict success. They found that the SEAL candidates who were competitive water polo players or wrestlers (in that order) at the high school or collegiate levels had the highest potential to successfully complete the rigorous sixmonth training program. But they also learned that the competitive athletes who also excelled as chess players were three times as likely to graduate as those who didn't play chess. "Chess players are always thinking two or three moves ahead," Admiral Olson explained. "They are not concerned with the current predicament, they are less emotional, less kneejerky, and are always thinking about longer term problem solving. Put another way, chess players don't quit over breakfast or lunch." "I know it sounds flip," Admiral Olson said. "But the key message to SEAL candidates is don't quit. Don't quit in anticipation of future failure. Decide now to not quit, decide to keep going with the confidence that you can do more than you think you can do, despite the pain, cold, heat, sand and fatigue that you will inevitably face." Of course, if you are in a specialized military operation with lives at risk, that's when you want to be sure the selection and training process did in fact weed out those who wouldn't be able to handle the situation. For the rest of us the message is clear. Use our power of choice to decide that we can make it through even the most challenging times... and you know what? We will probably be right. Or to quote Henry Ford, "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." * SEAL is an acronym for SEa-Air-Land Photo: creative commons licensed (BY) flickr photo by DVIDSHUB

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58 comments

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Add your comment...

Ingrid Danler, CFM Associate Director Operations at Association of State Floodplain Managers Excellent article. Self-sabotage and self-culling are real problems that prevents creative problem solving and risk-taking. It hurts to fail, but it hurts even more to not know if you could have excelled at it!
Like (5) Reply 5 hours ago

Antonio Vereen, DSL, Brenda Owens , Michael DiTaranto, +2

Rob Poulton, PMP Builds profitable business through effective project management Good read, even better message. Its in the quiet moments fear seems real. The SEAL study is revealing and helpful. Thanks!
Like (4) Reply 5 hours ago

Brenda Owens , Vanessa Savoie, Tshaka Armstrong, +1

William (Bill) Rauwerdink Founder & Managing Director at BAM Investments, LLC This type of thinking is why they are the best.
Like (3) Reply(1) 5 hours ago

John A. Rugh, Kate Miglautsch, and Vanessa Savoie

1 Reply
Kate Miglautsch Inside Sales Representative at Adelman Travel Positive thinking is a powerful tool! An attitude can make or break!
Like 4 hours ago

Miguel ngel Salcedo Director of Finance and Administration at Thyssenkrupp Elevator Panama I completely endorse this predicament, what makes you fail 90% of the time is the anticipation of failure, the very same fear to fall down... just do not quit and stay put challenging whatever comes ahead. This is also true on sports.
Like (2) Reply 5 hours ago

Brenda Owens and Mendy Katz

Jim Prass Sr Director, Infrastructure A positive mental attitude makes the difference in EVERY situation.
Like (1) Reply 5 hours ago

Brenda Owens

Jeff Grim President at Employee Benefit Systems, Inc. So true....Great article.

Like (1) Reply 5 hours ago

Brenda Owens

Shelly Mathis Culinary Specialists at US Navy Very interesting article really opened my eyes, thanks!
Like (1) Reply 5 hours ago

Brenda Owens

Daniel Conley 2nd Founder / Aspiring Tribal Leader - Bootrant.com Awesome ! Great read.
Like (1) Reply 5 hours ago

Brenda Owens

Andrew Jackson, CSCP,PMP Program Manager - Global Transportation at Delta Air Lines That quote from Henry Ford goes a long way.
Like (1) Reply 5 hours ago

Kate Miglautsch

John Letaw Senior Project Manager Great way of thinking. People who quit due to expectation of failure drive me nuts. People like this are all around us, and most are not vets.
Like (1) Reply 5 hours ago

Mike Waddell

Patricia May Multilingual communications resource for companies worldwide for 20 years Thank you! A highly relevant post. . .
Like Reply 5 hours ago

Penny Ford Regional Sales Manager NSW/ACT - Staples Technology Solutions at Staples Australia Pty Ltd Anyone who's faced an Organisation going through change can relate to this....and perhaps draw inspiration to continue with their journey
Like Reply 5 hours ago

David Neeley Insurance Consultant at AAA Carolinas Outstanding...

Like Reply 5 hours ago

Vanessa Savoie Motivated & Experienced Financial/Metrics Analyst This is a great message and clever and concise insight into what makes a person successful in any endeavor.
Like Reply 5 hours ago

Philip S Johnston Hospitality Consultant at REVPAR International Great motivation - thank you for sharing!
Like Reply 5 hours ago

Sharon Bondurant Your trusted source for finding top, local technical talent Great post!!! Yes, this is so applicable to not only work success but to life in general. I, too, have learned that sometimes the only thing you need to do is keep showing up and not quit!
Like Reply 5 hours ago

Joshua Neske Truck and Equipment Sales Was very helpful and a great motivator.
Like Reply 5 hours ago

John Lukaszka Construction Professional No finish line!

Like Reply 4 hours ago

Ben F. Garcia, Ph.D.-ABD Researcher/Research Consultant. Executive/lifestyle Coach Who originally said 99% of success is showing up? Woody Allen?
Like Reply 4 hours ago

Tom Pennell Quality Assurance Analyst at 360 Cloud Solutions Excellent message. I just hope I can get my children to understand this. It will take them far.
Like Reply 4 hours ago

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