When Your Competition Tries to Kill You: The Power of Desired End States

When your competition tries to kill you on a daily basis you need to employ more effective practices then using strategies or tactics to direct action.  Find out how Navy SEALs are tasked in a way that opens up possibilities for action instead of closing them...

In a bombed-out Iraqi middle school, we were huddled around a scorched desk that I could only imagine belonged to the sixth grade teacher.  

As I peered around the room, my task unit commander laid out the route we would be taking into our target, instructing us to breach the front door using an explosive charge.

Silently, I questioned his choice. I had been on at least a hundred more missions than he had, and I knew that most of the compounds in this area had reinforced metal doors on which explosive charges would do nothing more than attract unwanted attention.  

I said nothing.

He was in charge and was very clear on what he wanted us to do.  We were then instructed to kill every terrorist in the house.

Within minutes of finishing the brief, we were in our trucks and on our way into battle.  A radio call came through, our commander on the line, abandoning his original plans and instructing us to instead take a different route. Without question or hesitation, we followed his orders. Within minutes, the radio crackled again, our commander shifting gears once more, telling us to go back from where we just came, and to take the original right turn.  

I began to get nervous - what change was going to come next?

When we arrived at the house, we found that the door was in fact, reinforced steel, and explosive breaching would not work. I radioed the commander for further instruction. Frustrated by my call, he sharply told me to stick to the plan.  I pressed, explaining in detail that the explosive charge simply wouldn’t work.

After 5 minutes of debating while my team stood in the danger area, he conceded to my suggestion of picking the lock.

The moment the door swung open, we were confronted with a pair of women, who did not appear to be a threat. While typically we would subdue and zip-tie them, I revisited my commander’s instructions to kill all terrorists in the house. I paused. Did he mean women as well? As I stopped to think, a burst from an AK hit my radio operator.  The SEAL behind me took out the gunman.  

We took out the women and moved on to the next room.  

As we crept into the room, I caught sight of another man who was obviously unprepared for the fight.  As I looked at him through my rifles’ optic, I recognized him from the famous “Deck of Cards”.  

The “Deck of Cards” had pictures of the 54 highest priority targets in Iraq.  Taking him in for questioning would be a huge win for the intel community, but my commander was clear about killing all of the terrorists in this house.  I clearly remember how frustrated he was with me when I questioned him about breaching the door and the orders to change direction twice.

My mind raced with indecision, anxiety, and confusion. I wanted to call him to ask what he wanted me to do, but I hesitated after being snapped at once already. With the terrorist in my sights, my mind still racing, I felt a hit like a baseball bat to the side.

My world went black...

I am happy to say that the story you just read was fiction.  

No SEAL mission would ever go down like this simply because we would never rely on our commanders to dictate goals or objectives in the form of specific tactics.

I am willing to bet however, that all of you have been in a situation similar to the one I just described.  One in which your manager gave you a goal or objective in the form of specific actions, creating confusion, anxiety and the need for more specific direction.  

If SEALs do not need to operate in conditions like that, WHY should YOU?

The way SEALs avoid the situation above is to use Desired End States, Strategies, and Tactics to provide direction, as opposed to goals or objectives.  A SEAL commander would never tell his SEALs what to do, rather he would describe the future environment he wanted them to create.

Desired End State - a description of the environment when we are successful

• Use descriptive words instead of action words
• Will open possibilities instead of closing them
• Often describes the feelings produced  
• Will often include limitations

One trick when writing a DES: ask yourself what environment is produced, if all of the strategies come to perfect fruition.

Strategy - a course of action leading to a desired end state

• Covers the length of time of which there is perceived clarity of the future
• Often comprised of different phases
• Will include clear "left and right limits"
• Will require specific resources

One trick to creating valuable strategies is to design and discuss multiple courses of action, and debate the most effective.

Tactics - specific actions that fulfill a strategy and lead to the desired end state

• Require specific knowledge and skills to complete
• Are short term in nature
• Can be measured

To design valuable tactics, enlist the expertise of the lead-followers that will be responsible for executing them.

Using these distinctions are critical to your success, whether you are a manager with positional authority or a hardcore Lead-Follower.  

We know that the first role of a Manager is to Set and Communicate a Clear Desired End State.  We also know that the first role of a Hardcore Follower is to Be Clear on the Desired End State.  

We can take this further now, expecting Managers to set the DES, Leaders to design potent Strategies, and Followers to execute effective Tactics.

When was the last time your team disappointed you? Do they understand and implement a DES - despite high stress - to be able to pivot seamlessly?

If not, connect with me (Larry Yatch) and let's see if I can help.