EPISODE 140

The Case of
“The mission v. the people”

 

Jul 1, 2023 | Podcast

Infantry-man running across an open battlefield in black and white

In dangerous career fields like the military or law enforcement, there’s an unavoidable tension of priorities between the mission and the safety of the people on the team who need to accomplish it. It’s one thing to say you put your people first, but if it was a safe job, they wouldn’t issue body armor. In today’s episode, Mike and Jim demonstrate the ways this can be a false dichotomy and how to keep everyone on the team on the same page. 

It’s important to take care of your people because you can’t do the mission without them, but if the mission doesn’t get done because of an excess of caution, there’s no point in any of y’all being there in the first place. A conundrum, truly! This episode looks at ways to manage the expectations of team members by bringing them up to speed as they come on board, and other considerations to take when (here’s that word again) managing highly motivated people.

Links:
Scouting, For Boys – Rabert Baden Powell

Uncontrolled Spread: Why COVID-19 Crushed Us and How We Can Defeat the Next Pandemic – by Scott Gottlieb

The Art of Clear Thinking: A Stealth Fighter Pilot’s Timeless Rules for Making Tough Decisions – by Hasard Lee 

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Intro music credit Bensound.com

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