This is such a killer thread, and I’ve wanted to contribute here for a hot minute. I’ve cycled through four commands. All of them were the best time in my military career… hard, but SO kick@$$. Taking Command is like becoming a parent. You won’t feel ready, but you are at the same time.

So, understanding that there is LOTS of great advice here, in any number of leadership blogs, in books, in TED Talks… I want to pass off only the most essential survival tools for taking command.

1. You need a Leader Book! No, not that cool green book… you need that too; that’s for your notes. You ALSO need a book/binder/folio/tablet, that has the common operating picture for your unit. This allows you to “fight the fight” every day. I attached a recommended table of contents.

2. Ask the outgoing commander what she/he would do with six more months in command… There you go, those are your first priorities. I attached the templates I used to have these conversations during my changes of command. Please excuse some of the language in the document. 😉

3. Distill everything, EVERYTHING you want to say to your company to three bullet points (or less). The human brain can hold 3-5 bits of data in short-term memory. That’s psychology. If it’s not concise, it’s not remembered. For me, I cared about one thing: morale (which, in more nuanced dialogue I would describe as “professional fulfillment”). My personal philosophy will have to be a different post, but you, future Company Commander, you need to identify your magic feather. Pick a good one. I attached an example.

4. Start your continuity book, NOW! Make two folders on your desktop. Title one, “Working,” title the other one, “Continuity.” All the stuff your working on lives in the Working folder. All the stuff you finish migrates to the Continuity folder. You make subfolders as needed. When it’s time to change command… all that institutional knowledge is ready to go. When it’s time to share knowledge with the next generation of Leaders… all that institutional knowledge is ready to go.

There it is, 4 things essential to your Command. I hope any of this is useful. Congratulations and good luck!

~Jeff