LET’ S DO BUSINESS
BEHIND ENEMY LINES
Passing selection opened another world. Downes spent 12 years with the SAS, including a decade in a Sabre Squadron, operating in some of the most dangerous environments on earth.
Some of those missions remain secret. Others he can discuss.
During the Iraq War, his unit operated behind enemy lines before moving into Baghdad as the city fell.
Among their targets were senior figures from Saddam Hussein’ s regime— people featured in the coalition’ s famous deck of cards identifying the most wanted members of the Iraqi leadership.
Downes and his colleagues would enter addresses with limited knowledge of what awaited them inside.
“ There could be bodyguards there,” he says.“ Sometimes there would be women and kids there, their families there, dogs there. So you don’ t know what mission you’ re going on.”
The teams doing those jobs could be remarkably small. That required trust, preparation and the ability to react immediately when circumstances changed.
Those qualities, Downes argues, have obvious relevance beyond the military.
A chief executive may never have to make a decision under gunfire. But every organisation experiences uncertainty. Customers disappear. Costs rise. Competitors emerge. Projects fail. People make mistakes.
Pressure has a habit of revealing the strength of the team beneath the strategy.
And Downes’ experience of elite teams challenges one of the clichés surrounding military leadership- the assumption that everything depends upon a dominant commander issuing instructions from above.
He says the SAS actively sought input from the people around the table, including the newest member of the team.
When a plan was being developed, everyone could be expected to contribute.
“ It could be the newest person just joining the group,” he says.“ When the boss is making the plan, he will ask for your input.
“ He’ ll think,‘ Right, what do you think of this plan?’
“ They expect something. It doesn’ t matter if it’ s something too bonkers. They won’ t laugh at you, because sometimes thinking outside the normal tunnel vision, something different, that’ s the way the SAS likes it.”
For business leaders, the lesson is compelling. Hiring talented people achieves little if they do not feel able to speak.
The person with the best idea does not automatically have the most senior job title.
And when circumstances change quickly, leaders need people around them who are prepared to think.
THE SAS ETHOS- AND THE BOARDROOM
Perhaps the clearest connection between Downes’ military career and the people he now speaks to in business comes from the ethos associated with the regiment.
He describes five characteristics: classlessness, humility, integrity, the pursuit of excellence and a sense of humour.
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