Thursday, February 7, 2019

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.”
– Mark Zuckerberg –

What’s your appetite for risk and how do you determine whether the risk is acceptable?

The sixth and final principle of the U.S. Army’s “mission command” philosophy is “Accept prudent risk.”  The military defines this as “deliberate exposure to potential injury or loss when the commander judges the outcome in terms of mission accomplishment as worth the cost.” It’s rooted in the concept that commanders should seek opportunities in order to exploit the enemy’s weakness and is a much more structured concept than simply “rolling the dice” and gambling.

I’ve enjoyed sharing these six principles with you and, for your reference, I’ve listed them all below along with links to the original post for each. Additionally, the Army publication “ADRP 6-0 Mission Command” is available by Clicking here and is a valuable resource for anyone seeking to better understand the philosophy of “Mission Command.”

+ Build cohesive teams through mutual trust
+ Create shared understanding
+ Provide a clear commander’s intent
+ Exercise discipline initiative
+ Use mission orders
+ Accept prudent risk