I had the honor of spending an entire day training with a local SWAT team as a result of a charity auction. I had no idea of what to expect and as soon as we began our day, instantly, I was in testosterone heaven and I soon learned some valuable lessons that could be immediately applied to the business world.
Because of my life-long familiarity with firearms, I was allowed to participate in all of their drills. One of the drills was door entry and room egress. Being a total novice, it bothered me that the SWAT team was required to knock and announce themselves to the bad guy in the building, giving him plenty of time to prepare an ambush for the team that would soon enter through the door. In the drill, the door is breached, and then a line of SWAT members file through the door very quickly, but controlled, with the goal of dominating the space they entered. I noticed that they alternated left or right as they entered and thus filling every blind spot and space in the room. I asked the leader of the team if there was a strategy for which direction the first guy goes, either left or right. The leader told me that in shooting situations, it’s usually the second guy through the door that gets shot, not the first.
I had two thoughts; first, I never wanted to be the second guy through the door, and second, the direction the first guy goes, either left or right, could determine the fate of the second guy and the rest of the team. I asked the leader if they decide prior to the entry which direction the first guy goes and the leader said something truly amazing and this strategy has direct implications to us in the business world. Looking me directly in the eyes, he told me, “It’s our strategy that whatever direction the first guy goes, it is the right direction. We never second guess that decision and we commit fully all the way through the exercise based on that decision."
In the little I know about the inner workings of the SWAT, I do know that they critique everything they do. They review every movement, every eye movement, and every decision- except this one decision which is the initial direction the first guy goes on a door entry. The other important thing is that once they begin to execute the plan, they commit 100% to the strategy until the very end.
In business, I find that in many cases, we lack the discipline and sometimes courage to follow a strategy completely to the end. In many cases, after meeting upon meeting, a strategy is hammered out, except that more than one on the team really hasn’t actually bought into the plan. They may have agreed to the strategy, but their heart is not in it and then during the execution portion of the plan, they find excuses why the strategy was flawed and they withdraw support. In other cases, as soon as the first bump in the project occurs, there is a call to abandon the plan and start the grinding planning process all over again. This would never be allowed in the SWAT world. Many times, I’ve been told, the team enters a room full of chaos – dogs barking, people screaming and crying, unplanned obstacles which trip team members, and walls standing where they are not supposed to be. Likewise, even in the best plan, we in business get hit with all kinds of obstacles and unplanned roadblocks. I think the impressive attribute of the SWAT that we should do more of in business is to stay committed to the plan, pull together as a team, and stick to the strategy. How many of our plans would have been successful if we just executed with the focus and spirit of the SWAT? Naturally, there may be a time to change the strategy based on market or business dynamics, but only after a fully committed and focused attempt has been made.
In the world of the SWAT Team, the Team is everything. Flawless execution of the strategy insures that the innocent are saved, the team member go home to their families, and the bad guy meets justice. I think we in the business world can learn a few lessons about strategy, commitment, and execution from these brave and loyal public servants. So here are my take-aways:
So there you have it. Sound business practices from guys who risk everything to protect the innocent. My hat’s off to these brave public servants! Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series in a few weeks.
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