Hi Everyone,

Happy Friday! Thanks for spending part of it reading The Lake Street Journal.

This week we’re talking about General Mattis’ extra effort, Atul Gawande’s coach, and the value of writing. Let's get into it.

Give Them 100 Percent

In the mid 1980s—long before he was a four star general—Jim Mattis was assigned to run West Coast recruiting station.

His first task after taking command was getting the address of every recruiter. His second task was traveling over 2,000 miles in two weeks to meet with all 38 of them in person.

He communicated the mission—four recruits per month—along with his support, telling them, "anything you need from me, I'll get you."

But he didn't stop there.

Mattis wanted his men to know he was invested in their success and their careers. As commanding officer, he had to write two performance reports per year for each of his 38 men—a time consuming task even if done efficiently.

But he didn't do it efficiently. Knowing the hard way is usually the right way, he ditched the template and wrote a tailor made report for each recruiter.

As he wrote in his memoir, "With specially selected recruiters working extraordinary hours, I wanted to write fitness reports that would break them out from the pack...I had to make sure that those who gave 100 percent to the mission received the promotions their commitment earned."

Under Mattis' command, the recruiting station was rated top in the Western District for 39 months, and most of his recruiters received promotions or commendations.

As we talked about with Theodore Roosevelt last week, respect is earned.

If you want your people to work hard for you, you have to work hard for them. Like Mattis did, you have to show them that you're invested in their career. That if they give you everything they've got, you'll do the same.

Being in charge is easy. Being a leader takes work.

Part of that work is earning respect. It's a big job, but it's well worth the effort.

The Coach in the Operating Room

Great leaders study high performers in other disciplines to find tactics they can apply to their work.

That is exactly what Atul Gawande did when he brought a coach into his operating room.

Gawande had been a surgeon for eight years. He'd done thousands of surgeries. And each surgery involved a team—med students, residents, surgical assistants, anesthesiologists.

As the surgeon, he was the quarterback. The leader.

As the leader, it was uncomfortable for Gawande to explain who the man was joining them in the operating room.

It's uncomfortable to admit—especially when you're an expert—that you still have something to learn.

It's uncomfortable to expose yourself to scrutiny and fault finding.

But it's the best way to improve.

If you're considering hiring a coach, read this article. And if you're a leader or high performer and haven't considered hiring a coach, you should definitely read this article.

Thanks to my friend David for sharing it with me.

Good Writing

Writing is crucial to good leadership because writing is the best form of thinking. It produces clarity, and the best leaders have clarity of thought and action.

This essay from Paul Graham underscores that point. He argues writing that sounds good is more likely to be correct because the act of making writing sound good is the process of grappling with ideas. It's a great essay, like everything he writes.

And if you're interested in further reading on writing, here's an article I wrote on why great leaders write. And four more essays from Graham on writing. Here, here, here, and here.

Workout of the Week

I always underestimate how hard it is to do burpees over the bar. This workout was no exception.

Nifty Fifty

5 rounds for time:

• 10 calories on assault bike

• 10 toes to bar

• 10 burpees over the bar

• 10 front squats (95)

My goal was 15 minutes, but, as often happens, I was humbled. I finished in 16:57. Let me know how you do.

Quote of the Week

"Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune." - Sam Walton

Have a question or a comment? Respond to this email.

Talk soon,

Joe