One Mission

Can large organizations acquire the agility of small teams? Yes, claims Chris Fussell, former Navy SEALs officer. According to him, it is possible to implement a hybrid approach, which combines the strengths of highly structured entities and the reactivity of network cells. This vision is inspired by the operational principles of the US armed forces in their long fight against Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Indeed, to defeat an extremely mobile enemy, which had the advantage of local knowledge, the US armed forces had to seriously review their doctrine. The keys to this mutation: a strict alignment of the field units with the common strategic objectives; regular, dense and transparent communication; decentralization of the tactical decisions. Chris Fussell not only describes these general principles; he also demonstrates how to concretely apply them. Chapter after chapter, we thus discover how to build a shared “storyline”, which becomes the guiding thread for the autonomous action of the units; or how to guarantee their coordination under time pressure, when faced with varying field realities. The author also builds parallels with the business world, by relying on his experience as a consultant. A last point: each chapter finishes with a list of questions applicable to our own organizational transformations. A comprehensive and pragmatic book.