A Warrior’s Journey: From the Battlefield to the Boardroom

Built Not Born (Episode X-Ray): J.P. Dinnell — Former US Navy Seal Sniper, Point Man & Machine Gunner for SEAL Team Three Task Unit Bruiser.

Ex US Navy SEAL JP Dinnell

“Dream as you’ll live forever, live as you will die today.”

LISTEN TO THIS INTERVIEW ON SPOTIFY

J.P. Dinnell, a former U.S. Navy SEAL with three combat deployments, served as point man, machine gunner, and sniper for SEAL Team Three’s Task Unit Bruiser, the most decorated special operation unit in the Iraq War.

JP is now a Leadership Instructor, Speaker, and Strategic Advisor with Echelon Front, where he serves as Director of Experiential Leadership Training Programs.

10.5 Leadership Lessons from JP DInnell:

1) Anyone Can Be a Leader.

• Your TITLE does NOT matter.
• Your RANK does NOT matter.
• You can LEAD wherever you are in your organization.

2) Leadership is Influence.

• Leadership is NOT a title.
• Leadership is INFLUENCE.
• If you have influence, you are a leader.

3) Leaders Take Extreme Ownership.

• Leaders take 100% responsibility for everything that happens with their team.
• When events happen outside of the leader’s control, the leader still controls their REACTION, RESPONSE and ATTITUDE.

4) Leaders Have a Vision.

• JP wanted to be a Navy SEAL since childhood.
• He followed that dream, even when people (including the Navy Recruiter) laughed at him.

5) Leaders Have a Plan.

• Having a PLAN instills CONFIDENCE.
• FEAR, UNCERTAINTY and DOUBT creep in when you don’t know what’s next.

6) Leaders are Humble.

• Humility is the #1 Characteristic of a leader.
• Be HUMBLE or get humbled.

7) These Daily Alarms Are Set on JP’s iPhone:

• “Live to Honor Them.”
• “War Against Complacency.”
• “Get After It.”
• “Earn Your Purple Belt.”

8) How JP Rectifies Losing People Close to Him as a Person of Faith:

• “There are things that just aren’t going to make sense and we have to have FAITH and we have to seek His understanding.” — JP Dinnell
• JP learned to lean into his faith not only in times of war and danger, but in everyday life.
• “It’s not fair for us to only lean on God when we need something.” — JP Dinnell

9) Surprising Fact:

• JP has never read the book or has seen the movie “American Sniper” even though the movie was based on his SEAL Team Three counterpart, Chris Kyle and references JP in the film.

10) What’s ONE LESSON Everyone Can Take Away from this Conversation?

• “Do an honest self assessment of your capability, abilities and skill sets as a leader / human being. Then pick something that you can work on and get to work.” — JP Dinnell

10.5) No Matter What, You Always Control:

• Your ATTITUDE.
• Your WORK ETHIC.
• Your INTEGRITY.
• Your DISCIPLINE.

Connect with JP Dinnell:

• Podcast: The JP Dinnell Show
• IG: JP Dinnell
• Website: Echelon Front — JP Dinnell
• Documentary: Elite SEAL Sniper JP Dinnell — An ORIGIN Film

WATCH THIS INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE

“Life is Built, Not Born.”

Joe Ciccarone

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