TakingPoint: A Navy SEAL's 10 Fail Safe Principles for Leading Through Change Hardcover – February 27, 2018

This is both an inspiring and challenging book. It lays out the mechanisms and value of transformations in organisations. When these principles are put into practice, we can have high performing teams and organisations.

There's no shortage of great leadership material available. In fact, there's no shortage of great leadership material from combat-tested SEALs available (e.g. Extreme Ownership, Way of the SEAL, etc.). Brent sets Turning Point apart by not only covering leadership fundamentals but distilling them down into clear concepts and providing specific tactical approaches on how to deal with them.Often times, leadership is presented in the abstract and while you're on-board with everything, you walk away wondering exactly how to replicate that in your specific situation. Turning Point does an incredible job of addressing a specific inflection point and challenge all leaders face (change--and all its tentacles), gives you an insight into the mindset of the people affected by your decisions and lays out exactly what they're looking for from you as a leader, and provides a blueprint for laying a solid foundation to create the change you need. Fortunately, it doesn't stop there, and Brent provides tons of framework for successfully reinforcing it and "troubleshooting" sticky situations. It comes 360.Anyone buying a business or assuming a new leadership role/set of responsibilities needs to read this book. For me, this has been critical reading, as I am in the process of acquiring a company that's been founded/owned/run by the same person for the last 30 years. It's helped me gain a more circumspect view on the acquisition, understand my new employees and their needs much better, and given me key principles and milestones to focus on as we transition from the purchase to infusing a new culture.I have a two pronged warning: first, make the time--this is maybe my slowest read ever because it is so concentrated and requires a lot of thought; second, my book looks like Staples barfed on it because of all the highlights, notes, and post-its I've used. This is powerful stuff; leverage it!

Leadership is one of those things that is often spoken about, but so seldom demonstrated. Brent has articulated what the challenges of leadership through change can be and how to apply actual process to lead through that change. Not in a prescriptive way that forces your team into an environment they’re not comfortable with, but a collaborative process that supports a positive culture. Brent’s book is excellent, easy to consumer and provides real world examples on how to move through even the most challenging situations. He can write about it so well because he’s done it as both a SEAL and an active and successful entrepreneur. He writes with a blend of straight talk, personal experience, well-researched examples and even a bit of self-depreciating humor (which is always useful in a leadership role!). As an entrepreneur and a college professor I’m already recommending this book to my clients, my peers and, probably most importantly, my students. They are the leaders of the future and can use this as a primer on how to demonstrate leadership at any level within an organization.

I am a certified Change Master, a Lean 6 sigma Black Belt and have an APICS certification in Logistics, Transportation and Distribution. I have read countless books on change management, transformation and leadership. I have sat in classrooms for hours on leading change. No book or program has laid out a roadmap for success better than Taking Point.The book contains a prescription for success. It effortlessly combines battlefield allegories backed with meaningful business facts and data.Like the Deming’s quote says, “In God we trust, all others bring data”.The 21st century business world has changed, shifting power to the job seeker. The 10 Principals is a roadmap to driving positive culture. Your people are the company’s most valuable commodity. Products and automation are nothing without a culture nimble enough to change and continuously delight their customers.I am buying this book for all my managers and front-line supervisors.

Brent provides lessons in excellence in his book “TakingPoint” by outlining a holistic and tactical framework for all leaders (executives, managers, and entrepreneurs) to deploy in their organizations which allows leaders to build and maintain high performing, trust based cultures, which drives business outcomes and goals in today’s fickle business operating environment.Brent’s diverse leadership background dovetailed with his unique combination of mission driven team experiences and for-profit business experiences allow him to weave this non-stop thought provoking manifesto.As a business transformation leader, it is my opinion that TakingPoint provides today’s leaders with the business critical ability to successfully lead organizational change. I was extremely impressed with Brent’s ability to provide concrete real world examples of aligning culture and strategy and highlighting his real world lessons learned that we all can learn from.

When I first received Taking Point, I said I was only going to read a few pages until I got to a place where I could truly dig in and read. Well, a few pages turned into 2 hours of reading. I am a big Change Management Model and Transforming Culture guy, but Brent Gleeson has carefully crafted a way to bring theory to real-world experiences that will change mindsets, ways of doing business, and how we treat those that we call teammates. The military analogies (training and mission-focused) used places the reader in their own experiences and specifically leans on a self reflecting way of doing the work better. Taking Point is motivational, transformational, business driven, and team oriented! Ordering more for my team, because this book is a MUST READ!

It does have information base on war

I m in love with books by Navy Seals. This is one of my favourites.

Sensational book on leading through change. Definitely up there with other great books like Jim Collins Good to Great and Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

If one is a change agent, a leader or just another individual who takes responsibilities; then this book is a MUST READ.