Rule #5. Assume command

I have been writing down my rules for success.  You can find the first four here: #1, #2, #3 and #4.

Today is rule #5, "Assume command".  I learned this rule from my grandfather Timothy R. Rice who was a Lt. Colonel in the US Army.   My grandfather was a big part of my early childhood and I spent many hours of my life doing things with him.  He was the kind of man who lived by a personal code of conduct.  He was compassionate, generous and kind to everyone he met but he was also strong, direct, and intolerant of wrong doing.  Everywhere my grandfather went he assumed he was in charge.  This was probably directly related to his military career but obviously in the military that might not always have been true.  It was this very approach to life that is the essence of rule #5, "Assume command".   When you are living rules #1 to #4 then (and only then) can you exercise rule #5.  In fact, if you are truly doing the first four rules most people you work with, and many you associate with, will actually assume you are in charge.   By contrast, failing at the first four rules and trying to do rule #5 will get you into trouble.  "Assuming command" is NOT about actually being in charge.  It is about understanding that a majority of people have no desire to make decisions and be accountable for their decisions.  "Assume command" is about situational authority. You'll find that if you are showing up everyday (rule #1), paying attention (rule #2),  remembering lots of stuff (rule #3) and getting stuff done (rule #4), that living these rules will put you in the situation that most people will simply assume your in charge.   You can leverage this situational authority to accomplish even more than you otherwise could on your own.

Get busy living the first four rules and then step into the world of rule #5,  assume command!