BOOK REVIEW: The Gouge! How to Be Smarter That the Situation You Are In
By: Admiral Bob Harward/Post Hill Press
Reviewed by: Doug Wise
The Reviewer — Douglas H. Wise served as Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency from August 2014 until August 2016. Following 20 years of active duty in the Army where he served as an infantry and special operations officer, he spent the remainder of his career at CIA.
REVIEW — When Bill Harlow (book editor of The Cipher Brief) asked me to do a review of Admiral (Retired) Bob Harward’s book, The Gouge – How to be Smarter than the Situation You are In, I immediately said yes. Full disclosure: I know and respect Bob and knew this was going to be a great read. When reading a book, most non-fiction readers want to learn, to be inspired, and be entertained. Much like legendary SEAL shooting expertise, The Gouge hits the mark on all three.
Bill said the book was small and, as an amateur reviewer, I am all about small books. Bill was right and the size is the first thing a reader will notice. The overall size of the book is the equivalent of two iPad Mini’s stacked on top of each other. A skeptical reader might ask her/himself, how could a small book (173 pages) purport to cover the broad topic of leadership. Most books on that lofty topic are tomes of three to four hundred pages, so how could this book be of value to me? The answer to the preceding question is in the title itself. Gouge (a distinctly US Navy term), as Harward explains, is “essential information” which enables a leader to be smarter than any situation you are in. However, gouge is more than a simple aphorism. Its simplicity belies its complexity as the gouge is about creating success for the given challenge and a positive outcome for all. Bob drives this point home over and over again in his short 173 pages of gouge for the reader.
The book is structured into short chapters, some of which are chronological and some of which are positioned topically. Bob skillfully transitions between the chapters and the flow is smooth. The book itself is a fast read owing more to Bob’s energetic writing style than the size of the book.
Bob Harward by any measure has had a remarkable career from his days as a Naval Academy midshipman, as a Naval officer, Navy SEAL, to being one of the most recognized CEOs in the defense sector. I had the honor of serving with Bob in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq and observed him as he “lived by the gouge.” Many authors on leadership and management offer philosophical observations or assessments on the successes and failures of others. In The Gouge, Bob offers observations and assessments of his own successes. Because Bob uses real world stories, the reader does not have to struggle to see how the gouge has practical value. The book is chock-a-block full of fascinating and inspiring vignettes about naval and SEAL operations where the gouge is front and center. The reader gets to ride along with Bob and see through his eyes as he applies the gouge in deployments and operations all over the world.
As he discusses the gouge throughout the book by way of stories about himself and SEALs, he adroitly translates the lessons of the gouge from SEAL-world to our world so we too can learn by the gouge and live by the gouge. Bob takes great pains to explain how the value of the gouge transcends organizations and cultures and has universal applicability. The reader does not have to work at this, Bob does the heavy lifting for you.
This is a worthy read for anyone, but especially for readers who have high affinity and respect for the Naval Special Warfare community. My advice to any reader is read on, learn, be inspired, be entertained and see how the gouge can apply to your personal and professional journey. Only a few can be a Navy SEAL, but any of us can use the gouge.
This West Point graduate reviewer has a final thought and that is, as we have the last two years, “Beat Navy.”
Editor’s note: The opinion expressed in the sentence above is only that of the review author, Mr. Wise. (Bill Harlow, CAPT, USN, Ret.)
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