The Unforgiving Minute - Craig Mullaney

This was an inspiring book, but also one with serious undertones. The key thing I learnt from this book is that leadership is not simply another job that one takes up - there are responsibilities to your people and their lives that you shoulder once you pick up the mantle. In the extreme case of the army, you are responsible for lives.

There are more parallels in leadership between the military and the real life than I thought. The concepts that Craig brought up: leading is actually a pull - one has to lead from the front, trust and empower your people but verify, and that competence is the biggest morale booster, are true gems. I think this means that the person leading has to push himself harder than everyone else on the team. In addition, I think demanding excellence from the team actually pays off in the long run - achievement and competence are indeed greater rewards than praises that ring empty.

It also gives me some comfort that all the training that I'm putting myself through, be it forcing myself to think with greater clarity, enforcing greater discipline on myself, reading a diverse range of books to steal from ppl's experiences - the sum total of all the moments where I could have rested but pressed on, shapes me up to be able to respond in the right way when the unforgiving minute arrives.

This was a gift from a colleague and also a friend, someone who has been further down the road and has much more experience about leadership than I can imagine at this pt. Appreciate all the guidance and advice so far! :)