A clear-eyed account of learning how to lead in a chaotic world, by General Jim Mattis—the former Secretary of Defense and one of the most formidable strategic thinkers of our time—and Bing West, a former assistant secretary of defense and combat Marine.
Call Sign Chaos is the account of Jim Mattis’s storied career, from wide-ranging leadership roles in three wars to ultimately commanding a quarter of a million troops across the Middle East. Along the way, Mattis recounts his foundational experiences as a leader, extracting the lessons he has learned about the nature of warfighting and peacemaking, the importance of allies, and the strategic dilemmas—and short-sighted thinking—now facing our nation. He makes it clear why America must return to a strategic footing so as not to continue winning battles but fighting inconclusive wars.
Mattis divides his book into three parts: Direct Leadership, Executive Leadership, and Strategic Leadership. In the first …
A clear-eyed account of learning how to lead in a chaotic world, by General Jim Mattis—the former Secretary of Defense and one of the most formidable strategic thinkers of our time—and Bing West, a former assistant secretary of defense and combat Marine.
Call Sign Chaos is the account of Jim Mattis’s storied career, from wide-ranging leadership roles in three wars to ultimately commanding a quarter of a million troops across the Middle East. Along the way, Mattis recounts his foundational experiences as a leader, extracting the lessons he has learned about the nature of warfighting and peacemaking, the importance of allies, and the strategic dilemmas—and short-sighted thinking—now facing our nation. He makes it clear why America must return to a strategic footing so as not to continue winning battles but fighting inconclusive wars.
Mattis divides his book into three parts: Direct Leadership, Executive Leadership, and Strategic Leadership. In the first part, Mattis recalls his early experiences leading Marines into battle, when he knew his troops as well as his own brothers. In the second part, he explores what it means to command thousands of troops and how to adapt your leadership style to ensure your intent is understood by your most junior troops so that they can own their mission. In the third part, Mattis describes the challenges and techniques of leadership at the strategic level, where military leaders reconcile war’s grim realities with political leaders’ human aspirations, where complexity reigns and the consequences of imprudence are severe, even catastrophic.
Call Sign Chaos is a memoir of a life of warfighting and lifelong learning, following along as Mattis rises from Marine recruit to four-star general. It is a journey about learning to lead and a story about how he, through constant study and action, developed a unique leadership philosophy, one relevant to us all.
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An Amazing Treatise on Leadership from Someone with Serious BTDT Credentials
5 stars
Mattis is a blunt, no-nonsense storyteller. He has had an inside look at some key moments in the last several decades of US history and presents his lessons learned from each of those eras. Great lessons on how to lead for anyone with any authority over other people, as well as some wonderful behind-the-scenes peeks at major events most of us just saw on the news.
Review of 'Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
[a:Jim Mattis|15492708|Jim Mattis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1568632088p2/15492708.jpg] I have to admit I am slightly disappointed. These memoirs are full of praises to the army, US as a 'keeper of peace' and all that nonsense. At times, it is hard to swallow and you feel like it landed in the wrongs hands - it rather belongs in some US recruiting entity as a recommended reading - stuff you have to promise kind of thing. I mean, don't get me wrong - there are brief descriptions of tactics and high level strategic thinking in there, that's stuff I have bought this book for. The ideas indeed resemble modern management practices and agile - I 'saw' even something remotely reminding on OKRs. But man, if you cut the bravado and shameless appraisals - you don't have that much left. 3 of 5 I mean, he didn't even try to get closer to Hart's level, it is a …
[a:Jim Mattis|15492708|Jim Mattis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1568632088p2/15492708.jpg] I have to admit I am slightly disappointed. These memoirs are full of praises to the army, US as a 'keeper of peace' and all that nonsense. At times, it is hard to swallow and you feel like it landed in the wrongs hands - it rather belongs in some US recruiting entity as a recommended reading - stuff you have to promise kind of thing. I mean, don't get me wrong - there are brief descriptions of tactics and high level strategic thinking in there, that's stuff I have bought this book for. The ideas indeed resemble modern management practices and agile - I 'saw' even something remotely reminding on OKRs. But man, if you cut the bravado and shameless appraisals - you don't have that much left. 3 of 5 I mean, he didn't even try to get closer to Hart's level, it is a recruiting brochure and nothing more.
Review of 'Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This superb memoir provides a unique perspective on many of the defining and often perplexing moments of recent decades, as Jim Mattis describes what went into leading Marines in Desert Storm, Afghanistan, and back to Iraq under the command of several presidents. "Reading," he says, "is an honor and a gift from a warrior or historian who—a decade or a thousand years ago—set aside time to write." Throughout his recollections, Mattis offers samples of the various writers he studied, and often emulates his favorite, Marcus Aurelius, in memorable didactic passages. His main theme is the book's subtitle: "learning to lead." How does one lead effectively? Aside from studying those who have fought "on this planet for ten thousand years," he stresses again and again the role of the leader to set a clear objective or intent for his or her subordinates, and to enable and trust them to execute more …
This superb memoir provides a unique perspective on many of the defining and often perplexing moments of recent decades, as Jim Mattis describes what went into leading Marines in Desert Storm, Afghanistan, and back to Iraq under the command of several presidents. "Reading," he says, "is an honor and a gift from a warrior or historian who—a decade or a thousand years ago—set aside time to write." Throughout his recollections, Mattis offers samples of the various writers he studied, and often emulates his favorite, Marcus Aurelius, in memorable didactic passages. His main theme is the book's subtitle: "learning to lead." How does one lead effectively? Aside from studying those who have fought "on this planet for ten thousand years," he stresses again and again the role of the leader to set a clear objective or intent for his or her subordinates, and to enable and trust them to execute more or less autonomously. Not establishing a clear goal, or issuing conflicting orders, is a surefire path to defeat. Indeed, he does not mince words when describing his frustrations dealing with unclear and conflicting orders from various administrations, where political expedience regularly won out over strategy. Future civilian leaders would do well to take his advice to read; otherwise they will be "incompetent", as their "personal experiences alone aren't broad enough to sustain" them. With great power comes great responsibility, and being ignorant is irresponsible.
Maps of the major military operations enhance the text, along with several pages of color plates of Mattis and his colleagues and troops overseas, and some interesting material such as contemporaneous letters, memos, and articles in the appendices. One of those has a lengthy list of books—another exhortation by the General to read.
