Gen. McChyrstal's Lessons

I have always had a lot of respect for the men and women who serve in our armed forces. Tonight's episode of "6o Minutes" featured an interview with Gen, Stanley McChrystal, commander of the US forces in Afghanistan. The Gen. has had a long, successful career and is one of the most respected officers in the US Army. He makes a point of leading from the front and going out to talk to the troops and and view the situation of his own eyes.

Here are two lessons from Gen McChrystal that we can apply to our business (I am paraphrasing the Gen., I am sure his interview is available on the CBS website):

• "In most organizations when you ask when something can be done, they reach for a calendar, I want my people to look at their watches." Today's market is faced paced and constantly changing. A sense of urgency gives us a competitive advantage over our competition.
• General McChrystal holds large information sharing meeting with his officers. When asked if he was afraid this might lead to security leaks he replied "there is a greater danger in not sharing information. Information allows us to work together." A shared vision and teamwork are impossible if anyone is "out of the loop"

The problems we face on our business pale in comparison to the challenges Gen. McChrystal and his troops face everyday. If he makes a mistake people die. Applying his hard won lessons to running our businesses will help win our daily "battles".