# The Program by Eric Kapitulik & Jake MacDonald - Blinkist

What’s in it for me? Unlock comprehensive leadership and team skills.

On December 9, 1999, Eric Kapitulik faced a life-threatening challenge when the helicopter carrying him and his team of Force Reconnaissance Marines crashed during a training exercise. This harrowing experience tested his survival instincts and laid the foundation for what would become a transformative leadership and team-building endeavor known as “The Program.” 

In this Blink, you’ll learn how to forge a championship culture by instilling core values, setting and achieving high standards, and developing rigorous accountability mechanisms within teams. Through anecdotes and lessons that emphasize the development of key attributes such as resilience, leadership, and effective communication, you’ll discover how to become an outstanding teammate and leader in all areas of life – whether on the field, in the office, or at home.

Creating a championship culture

Have you ever wondered what makes a team truly exceptional? Well, it starts with building a championship culture that’s deeply rooted in core values. 

This is exemplified by the story of Captain Cory Ross and his team of Green Berets in Afghanistan. While embedded with local Afghan police in the Tora Bora Mountains, their commitment to respect and teamwork was put to the test. During a cultural meal, despite receiving reports of potential threats, they chose to finish their lunch, honoring the local tradition without alarming their hosts. This decision highlighted their disciplined approach to building trust and respect in a high-stakes environment.

Creating a championship culture involves understanding and implementing core values, selecting the best people to embody these values, and setting clear, actionable standards that reinforce these values every day. The foundation of a championship culture is its people. And so the “best” individuals are those who not only bring exceptional talent that helps achieve short-term missions, but who also carry out the team’s core values to ensure long-term success.

As a leader, it’s essential that you set an example by living out these core values yourself. You should never demand behaviors or qualities from your team that you aren’t personally willing to demonstrate. This includes being disciplined about maintaining the values you set, whether it’s in a corporate office, on the athletic field, or any other situation.

The standards you set provide a level of expected behavior that supports the culture you’re aiming to build. For instance, if punctuality is important, enforce a standard where meetings always start on time. This promotes a culture of respect and efficiency, and shows that you value everyone’s time. If discipline is a core value, then a practical standard might be responding to all communications within a specific timeframe, reinforcing this value daily. These standards should be crystal clear, ensuring everyone knows what’s expected of them without any room for interpretation. If standards are continually missed, adjust team roles or change team composition to keep the culture strong and focused.

To sum up, building and sustaining a championship culture involves carefully defining what qualities represent “the best” for your team, setting standards that reinforce these qualities, and making sure these standards are met consistently. By personally embodying the values and standards you’ve set every day, you’ll model the behavior you wish to see and set your team up for success.

Building reliable and effective teams

It’s June 2003, and the members of Marine Corps Special Operations Detachment One – aka Det 1 – have just been handpicked from thousands of candidates. The commanding officer wants the “tough, rugged bastards” to be trained over seven months before a deployment in Iraq. Training is intense: long hikes with heavy backpacks, shooting drills, night-time freefall jumps, and rigorous physical competitions after these exhaustive activities. Each team member is pushed beyond their limits through activities designed to foster unit cohesion and reliability under pressure.

The unit’s training illustrates the essence of being a good teammate – a concept that extends far beyond the battlefield into every facet of life where teamwork is required. Being a teammate involves more than just sharing a common goal; it entails consistently meeting and upholding the group’s standards. It’s about being the type of member who holds others accountable, ensuring that the entire team functions optimally.

So, how do you become this type of person? First, aim to be a “thumb teammate” versus a “finger teammate.” A thumb teammate presses into their own responsibilities and contributions before criticizing others, embodying the principle of leading by example. This contrasts with a finger teammate, who is quick to point out others’ faults without reflecting on their own role or contributions.

Accountability stood at the core of Det 1’s operational ethos. Each team member wasn’t just responsible for their own tasks but also for holding others accountable to the group’s standards. This collective responsibility ensured that the team operated seamlessly and efficiently, recognizing that any lapse in standards could have serious consequences – their lives literally depended on it.

The distinction between being “nice” and “kind” is particularly meaningful here. While being nice generally refers to maintaining pleasant interactions and avoiding conflicts, being kind involves deeper engagement – taking the necessary actions to support the team’s success. This includes having honest and sometimes difficult conversations, providing constructive feedback, and pushing each other toward continuous improvement. Kindness in Det 1 meant holding one another accountable to the team’s high standards, which was essential for their survival and success in missions.

The principles from Det 1’s experience highlight that successful teamwork extends well beyond individual capabilities. It demands active participation in a culture of excellence, characterized by leadership through action, shared accountability, and a commitment to fostering genuine growth. This ensures that the team is prepared to face any challenge collectively and effectively.

Leading with standards

Take a moment to think about what defines true leadership and who the genuine leaders among us are.

True leadership is about more than just influence, right? It requires both the desire and ability to guide others. Often, organizations mistakenly promote top performers to leadership roles without considering their leadership qualities, leading to poor outcomes and dissatisfaction. 

Team leaders can be judged by two primary standards. The first standard of leadership is mission accomplishment. A clear and well-communicated mission serves as the team’s end goal, whether it’s winning a game or reaching a revenue target. Leaders are responsible for defining this mission and ensuring every team member understands and works toward it.

The second standard is taking care of teammates. This involves making decisions that prioritize the team’s best interests, even if they’re unpopular. True care means holding teammates accountable and ensuring their actions support the team’s goals.

Being able to balance these two tasks is where the magic happens. While achieving the mission is important, the well-being of team members must always be considered. Leaders bear responsibility for everything within their organization, and need to make sure the team remains focused on the mission while safeguarding their members’ welfare. 

Finally, great leaders share credit for successes and take responsibility for failures, fostering trust and unity within the team.

These principles might seem difficult to accomplish – and they are. You need to put in time and dedication every day to uphold them. But leadership that truly embodies these standards will guarantee the long-term success of any group.

Developing physical and mental toughness

Imagine standing at the base of Mount Everest, knowing that only a few have successfully reached its summit. Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first conquered it in 1953. Since then, many have followed in their footsteps. But what makes someone capable of such a feat? 

Eric Kapitulik, an experienced climber who spent years preparing, attributes his success to the lessons he learned with the US Marine Corps. He believes that these lessons, focused on teamwork and leadership, are what separate the great from the good in any field – be it mountaineering, family life, sports, or business.

Preparation is within your control and is the greatest determining factor in whether you succeed. Your ultimate success isn’t measured by how you perform when conditions are perfect, but by how you handle setbacks and difficulties. Your physical and mental toughness are intertwined, supporting each other to help you overcome such adversity.

So, what exactly is toughness? It’s the ability to face and overcome adversity while making sound decisions. Physical toughness involves pushing your body beyond comfort, training in challenging environments, and building resilience through deprivation. Mental toughness, on the other hand, is about staying focused and making good decisions under stress and pressure. It includes emotional resilience and maintaining a positive attitude, even when things are hard.

Toughness isn’t an innate trait – you need to learn it. By putting yourself in physically and mentally uncomfortable environments, you become tougher. Life is full of harsh moments, but you don’t have to wait for them to occur to become tougher. Start by taking more challenging courses, handling difficult clients, or even just walking in the rain. These experiences prepare you for the inevitable tough situations.

To develop physical toughness, adopt a mindset of grinding through challenges. During workouts, push yourself beyond your usual limits. Instead of sticking to a set number of repetitions, go until you physically can’t anymore. Training in harsh weather conditions – whether it’s the cold, heat, rain, or snow – also builds physical resilience. Another method is practicing deprivation in safe ways, such as delaying water breaks during workouts or fasting for a day. This teaches your body to perform under less-than-ideal conditions.

Developing mental toughness involves building habits that prepare you for stress and adversity. This includes regular exercise, which increases lung capacity and oxygen flow to the brain, making you more alert and less prone to mistakes when tired. Mental toughness also requires you to stay focused and make good decisions under pressure. Developing a positive attitude, being passionate rather than emotional, and creating habits that reinforce these traits are important. Stress inoculation – exposing yourself to stress in controlled ways – helps you build the resilience needed to handle real-life pressures effectively.

What are your “Everests?” How do you prepare for the challenges you face daily? By developing physical and mental toughness, you’ll be able to handle adversity better, make good decisions under pressure, and achieve your goals – no matter how daunting they may seem.

Communicating effectively

On a fateful day in Normandy during World War II, soldiers found themselves on a beach under heavy fire, feeling completely isolated despite being surrounded by thousands of comrades. Momentum halted until sergeants forced communication, and as the soldiers began to talk, the sense of isolation faded and they moved forward as a team. This battlefield experience perfectly illustrates the power of communication in overcoming adversity. Whether it’s on a battlefield, in sports, or in a corporate setting, the ability to communicate effectively can transform chaos into coordinated action.

Effective communication is a hallmark of successful teams. At the core of this is CLAPP: Clear, Loud, with Authority, Pauses, and good Posture. Speaking clearly ensures the message is received as intended. Using the appropriate volume displays confidence and ensures everyone hears the message. Speaking with authority, without unnecessary fluff, commands respect and conveys expertise. Pausing allows the audience to process information and the speaker to gather their thoughts. Good posture reinforces the message, as nonverbal cues often speak louder than words.

But communication isn’t just about speaking; it’s also about listening. Listening to understand, rather than to respond, builds trust and defuses tension. When a military team was resistant to new tactics, a trainer challenged them to reconsider their stance by highlighting the life-or-death stakes. This moment taught them the importance of truly understanding others’ perspectives. Taking the time to understand rather than simply waiting to reply can lead to more meaningful and effective interactions.

Another key principle is closed-loop communication, where the recipient repeats back the task to ensure their understanding – and confirms completion once it’s done. This method avoids miscommunication and creates accountability, which helps to build trust and results in tasks being completed correctly. For example, at a busy hotel with thousands of daily tasks, closing the communication loop allows leaders to stay focused on accomplishing their overall mission without having to constantly check on every task.

Finally, amid the barrage of external noise from media, social media, and personal contacts, it’s important to focus on internal messaging. Instead of trying to control outside influences, leaders should cultivate a consistent and clear messaging within their team. Repeatedly reinforcing key values – on all levels of leadership – can counteract the external noise and keep the team aligned and focused.

And that’s what effective communication boils down to. Speaking with clarity and confidence, creating accountability, honing the ability to truly listen, and providing consistent internal messaging can transform any team. By focusing on these principles, you’ll lead with greater impact and unity, no matter the challenges you face.

Final summary

In this Blink to The Program by Eric Kapitulik and Jake MacDonald, you’ve learned how to create a championship culture essential for any team’s success.

Now it’s your turn to put these lessons into practice. Reflect on your core values, lead by example, foster accountability within your team, and continuously work on developing your toughness and communication skills. In doing so, you’ll build and sustain a championship culture that drives success in any endeavor.

OK, that’s it for this Blink. We hope you enjoyed it. If you can, please take the time to leave us a rating – we always appreciate your feedback. See you soon.