The Mission, The Men, and Me: Lessons from a Former Delta Force Commander

This is a common sense purchase! You must buy this book if you care about leadership!

I just finished this book and I can tell you that I was extremely impressed. Not only is Pete Blaber an American Hero, he is a leader. His stories are amazing, they make perfect sense to the lessons he shares in this book. I highly recommend this book to anyone in a leadership position!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Wow!

This was a great book, nearly impossible to put it down! If you want to gain a new perspective about leading in any situation (or just looking for a book to enjoy), this is a must. It is highly entertaining and overall a very delightful read!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wow...is that how it's done?

That one could put such complex concepts into such simple and straightforward terms and not make it seem as if they were pandering is amazing. In fact, there are some who say it can¿t be done. I have never seen them in action, in fact I think the Special Forces motto, ¿¿words not deeds¿¿ was greatly reinforced by this outstanding book.
I am going to take the lessons I have learned from this book and use them to craft my own life story. It is important to remember that the hardest lessons are rarely learned first hand and this book has shown how one persons experience can be shared by others for the good of all.
To say Pete Blaber has served at the epicenter of American special forces operations during the post 9/11 military engagements is neither fair to the engagements or to Pete himself. He was there and more. How he ever found himself working for the "the largest biotechnology company in the world" is as amazing as the story of his exploits in a command post in Somalia.
We are lucky to have people like Pete Blaber, doing what they do today! Without them, this world might be something much different. Without them, better would only be so much more of the same, so much more of what everyone else is doing. We need him, and those like him, because without stories of what they have done our lives would be so much less of the lowness of what they are.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Insightful reading for the "warrior" in all of us

¿The Mission, The Men, and Me¿ is the most insightful book I've read on the topic of leadership and decision-making. The beauty of Pete¿s guiding principles is in their simplicity. They just make sense and are easy to apply in everyday life. Pete uses operational and training anecdotes alike to develop these guiding principles and this reader found the stories as fascinating as the lessons learned. Not only does Pete educate us on leadership fundamentals, but gives us a glimpse into the normally clandestine operations of the most elite counterterrorism unit in the world.

In my opinion, this book should be required reading for anyone whose sights are set on Executive Management. As a graduate of a top business school, I wish I had read this book prior to re-entering the work force. Simply put, it should be part of the curriculum at business schools nationwide. The guiding principles in this book will help you avoid pitfalls, build trust and earn respect putting you on the path to success.
A must read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Must Buy Book From a True American Hero

Pete Blaber's book, "The Mission, The Men, and Me", should be required reading for the Harvard Business School and businesses around the world. His intelligence, insight and lessons in his life have transcended his military missions into his personal life. He stuck to his principles, learned from his mistakes and always kept an open mind which gave him the ability to adjust and adapt to almost any situation. From the very beginning, this book grabs you like Luca Brasi and doesn't let you go. It's like a great movie the ones you keep thinking about it long after you've left the theatre. He is a true Warrior in every sense of the word. Thank you Pete for your sacrifices, dedication and leadership, you helped kept us safe at night.

I knew Pete when we were younger, he was a born leader. I use to be one of the guys from the old neighborhood he use to bomb cars with. I remember afterword our arms would be so tired and sore, it felt like we just pitched a complete game that went into extra innings.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Amazing story and lessons

Peter Blaber did an amazing job with this book it has powerful insightsbto the war on terror and how to combat it

Great insights!

This should be mandatory reading for all military leaders, from squad size elements on up. What a great peak into the mind of a leader! His philosophies should be adopted and put into practice in all aspects of decision making.

Awesome

Col. Blaber's insights into combat and leadership are invaluable and should be read by all leaders, both military and civilian.

A must read for all new military leaders!

Pete Blaber disguises important leadership and life lessons as a story of exciting (Special Operations Command) military history. Through the retelling of his movie quality military experiences, Pete Blaber draws out guiding principles that he learned and presents them to the reader. These principles, presented in this way lead to a powerful and exciting read. All new junior military leaders should read this book before leading Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen or Marines. In addition, senior military leaders should review this book from time to time to ensure they do not violate the principles Pete Blaber provides.

Valuable Leadership Information

Information that can be readily applied to Leadership in any venue. If you are a leader of people, it provides basic, really practical guidelines that you can use. This is not just for the military; it is for people in charge.

Excellent

Appropriate for business, warfare, as well as your personal life, Pete Blaber shares the principles for sucess that he learned as comander of the world's most elite counterterrorist team: Delta Force.

Pete Blaber has done a great job with this book; factual, well written and expresses a position many have taken but were afraid to publicly state.

This book opens up many other questions about the war on terror, the way it was conducted from day one, the methods and tactics so long out of date. Useful deployment of troops has always been the job of the generals with ratification of the politicos. The unfortunate part is that many politicians know so very little about sending troops in harm's way or on useful military campaigns. It is high time that field tactics be altered to depend on the men on the ground, NOT from thousands of miles away in a secure bunker! For nearly 20 years, occupants of the White House have done great harm to the efforts of the military by: cutting funds for equipment, calling shots from Washington, DC and or downright relegation of the military to second or third rate citizens! Standing on an aircraft carrier offshore of Florida implying fat at sea, announcing mission results when it had hardly begun, throwing million dollar cruise missiles at an unseen enemy, is the height of stupidity! Enjoy this book......it touches on some revelations not before spoken. Many good, qualified officer and senior non-coms have left in disgust and disappointment seeing the changes in this nation's handling of it's armed forces. It is a wonder that young people still strive to make the military a career.

Insight to the warrior

This is a great book to understand some of the insight of how men move beyond the ordinary and do extra ordinary things.

Awesome Insight!!

As a former member of special operations, I can definetly relate to a lot of things in this book. However, the author brings "the average joe" in to the "black ops" community without giving too much away. A definite choice to give to your friends or your boss.

Pete Blaber is a modern Sun Tzu

I first learned of Pete Blaber while reading Sean Naylor's book, "Not a Good Day to Die". My reaction was hoping Blaber would write a book. Well Pete did and it is first class. Pete's background includes a Masters in Business, a stint at the War College and served as a top pick for the Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellows Program in 2004. All these experiences allow Pete to write an extraordinary book I consider a companion read to Sun Tzu. Like "The Art of War", Pete's book should be considered essential for modern day business leaders. Petes' leadership comes through clearly as he uses personal experiences from missions and field problems to highlight a path of wisdom we can follow toward excellence regardless of our chosen career be it business, military or even in everyday life. I've quoted his book several times in my workplace and I come off looking like a genius! Recounting his story about the gorilla outfit makes people stop and consider if we are doing business the same old way or is there something we can do different to reach a new level of organizational achievement. I view (military and business) intelligence gathering in a whole new light. Don't hesitate, buy and read this book. Do yourself a favor and also read his corporate fellows white paper on change management.

A Must Read

This book was refreshingly informative without all of the superman, non-believable antics so prevalent in most books on elite units. The author is obviously someone who knows what he is talking about and in my opinion is able to transmit some down to earth, user-friendly advice to the readers both military and non military alike. For someone who is curious about what lessons someone from an elite unit walks away with after completing service in the military, this book is for you.

our unsung heroes

Great book. Tells the story of our unsung heroes. These are the men you never hear about who are keeping our country safe.

A decent book for fans of military history

I'm somewhat biased towards military history, so I probably gave this higher marks than an average person would. Still, I thought it was absorbing and well-written. Once I started, I found it hard to put down. The one minor complaint I had was about the whole theme of the book: it seemed like the author couldn't decide whether he was writing an autobiography or a book on leadership. The book had some leadership lessons in it, but also a lot of other material that wasn't entirely relevant. Pete Blaber's book would be a lot more focused if he had modeled it after Dick Marcinko's "Leadership Secrets of the Rogue Warrior".

Hats-off to a true american hero, Pete Blaber

I just finished this "can't put it down" novel. It has all the aspects of a tutorial for critical thinking and leadership. The story is well presented and in a gentlemanly manner. Please recommend this book to your high school and college aged relatives and friends. It should be required reading for West Pointers, ROTC and OCS candidates as well as all NCO's. It will be enlightening for anyone interested in knowing what makes America great.

Thank you Pete Blaber for your distinguished service to our country. Thank you for uncovering and teaching the valuable lessons of context, developing the situation, discovering the "art of the possible" and listening to the guy on the ground. Business leaders can truly benefit from these concepts.

I am a retired executive business leader and will recommend this book to colleagues. It would have been required reading for my management staff.

You are a great American.

Simply Magic...

The book was my favorite Christmas present. If you read nothing else - and want to hear words from one of the tested greatest leaders of this generation - read THIS ONE.
It will make you smile/laugh and acknowledge it daily. Hooah!