“Conquering Crisis” by Admiral William H. McRaven

Without question, Admiral McRaven has had an amazing career as a Navy SEAL and Special Operations Commander. The lessons he has learned over that 40-year career are invaluable, and that is why I was excited to read his latest publication Conquering Crisis: Ten Lessons to Learn Before You Need Them. As the old saying goes, “A wise man learns by the experiences of others; a fool learns by his own.” So, I’m thankful to learn from the experiences of Admiral McRaven once again, as I have in his other popular titles Make Your Bed, The Hero Code, and The Wisdom of the Bullfrog.

The way Admiral McRaven grippingly tells anecdotal and personal stories and then seamlessly applies practical lessons behind them makes this a very enjoyable read. The unfortunate reality is that each and every one of us is either just coming out of a crisis, in the middle of a crisis, or perhaps unbeknownst to us now, about to enter into one. And while I may never be able to accomplish the physical feats required of Hell Week to become a Navy SEAL, this book does offer sage advice I can apply to life’s tests. Each chapter offers one of these powerful lessons:

1. First reports are always wrong;
2. Have a council of colonels;
3. Bad news doesn’t get better with age;
4. Weaponize the truth;
5. Move all your options forward;
6. Trust the Second Law of Thermodynamics;
7. Don’t rush to failure;
8. Micromanagement is not an ugly word;
9. Dictate the tempo; and,
10. There is always time for a morale check.

While every chapter had great lesson, the one most personally impactful to me was from chapter three, where Admiral McRaven reminds us that bad news doesn’t get better with age. Responding more quickly to crisis is what will allow us to, then, more quickly work toward its resolution. Delaying the crisis isn’t helping anyone. Withholding the bad news and allowing others to remain ignorant only has a negatively compounding effect. One does not need to be in a position of leadership or command to benefit from this book, either. Again, crisis has a universal application to it and, as such, this is a book that I would recommend to anyone. Not only is it practical, but the stories make it a fun read and the book itself is relatively brief to begin with.

Leader or follower, military or civilian, Conquering Crisis will offer insights that make not only surviving the next difficulty possible but also the ability to come out on top, having conquered it. You need not be controlled by crisis; it is possible to take control, and Admiral McRaven’s newest book is here to demonstrate how.