One thing that has struck me in recent weeks is the idea that for society to work well depends on everyone adopting a level of responsibility that is probably above most people’s comfort zone.

Having read about the concept of Extreme Ownership that comes out of the Navy Seal training (see Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin) I’ve tried to adopt the principle at work. The idea is simple, take ownership for any all all situations you find yourself in, no shying away, no blaming and pointing fingers if it goes wrong.

Bizarrely, I find it both difficult and easy to do at the same time. Easy, because people are always happy to work with you if you show a positive attitude, but quite hard, because I’m no natural leader, so I do have to put little reminders around my desk to keep me on my toes.

I’m sure I could do it all much better, but it has shown me just how much work it is to keep on your game. I do feel like both I and the team are reaping the rewards for it too.

If everyone in country all upped our game just a little, I suspect life would be much better all round.