Unstoppable Teams

Alden Mills, who led SEAL platoons three times and founded Perfect Fitness, argues that teams that excel in the military and in business rest on the same base: trust, empathy, a caring environment and a commitment to serving others. He describes a team as a set of connected relationships with one shared focus, and says success rarely depends on individual talent. A leader first builds a strong foundation for themselves, then uses it to help others reach past their own goals. Mills links this to three genetic drivers he says everyone shares: the will to survive, an ego-driven desire for personal gain, and a soul-driven wish to belong to something larger. Stories from his own experience illustrate the lessons.

Researcher and author Liz Wiseman endorsed it, saying it shows how the right leadership lets ordinary people achieve extraordinary things. Former Campbell Soup chief executive Douglas Conant praised it as a practical guide to building winning teams.