When you boil special operations down to its core fundamental actions, any warrior will most likely respond with the following: “We shoot, move and communicate.” I learned this lesson firsthand through years of training, deployments, and leadership in the SEAL teams, where simplicity under pressure is not optional, it is survival.
Now to be fair, that isn’t the most accurate sequence. It’s more like Communicate, Move and Shoot; but that really doesn’t roll off the tongue like “Shoot, Move and Communicate.”
At its essence, that is what special operators do. We keep taking disciplined action, adjusting as needed, until the mission is complete. This simple framework has guided me through combat, leadership, and business. In the sections that follow, I will break down what these words really mean, why they matter, and how you can apply them to lead and perform under pressure.
Shoot, Move, Communicate is not a slogan. It is a mental framework for operating in chaos. It captures the three core actions required to succeed when conditions are uncertain and pressure is high.
Shoot represents decisive action. It means addressing the problem in front of you with precision and intent. You do not wait for perfect information. You act to gain advantage and create momentum.
Move is about adaptability and progress. Staying still makes you vulnerable. Movement allows you to reposition, improve your situation, and stay ahead of changing conditions. Progress only happens when you are willing to move.
Communicate is what keeps the team aligned. Information shared at the right time keeps everyone effective. It ensures teammates understand what is happening, what is needed, and where the mission is going next. Without communication, even strong individual effort breaks down.
Together, Cover and Move or Shoot, Move, Communicate creates a continuous cycle. It allows teams to adapt, overcome obstacles, and stay coordinated until the mission is complete.
The language may change outside the military, but the principle does not. In leadership and business, it often looks like listen, decide, act or decide, act, communicate. Timely decisions, forward movement, and constant alignment are what drive results.
Speaking of the mission, there is another term we use often.
Charlie Mike.
We use it as a mission command signal and we also use it as a mantra. Charlie Mike means “Continue Mission.” There comes a time in any mission where the mission commander is waiting for the authority to proceed. The permission to execute comes in the form of two simple words: Charlie Mike.
I love this phrase and what it represents. To move forward and keep moving forward until the term “Mike Charlie” is used. Mission complete.
Charlie Mike is about commitment. Once you step forward, you stay in motion.
I am sharing these special operations terms with you because I want you to adopt them as you pursue something new.
Like any mission, a goal requires a series of actions to complete. And just like a military mission, a goal’s actions can be reduced to elemental actions as well. In the teams, this shows up clearly in principles like Cover and Move, where one element advances while another supports, ensuring progress without unnecessary risk.
Your goal might not require you to shoot, move, and communicate. But it will require three fundamentally similar actions.
Analyze.
Decide.
Act.
Too often people psyche themselves out before they even start their goal achieving journey. They overwhelm themselves with thoughts of how much work the goal will require. They question whether they are ready. They wonder if they even have the skills.
All of these are mental traps designed to prevent you from starting.
Do not fall for any of it.
Just Charlie Mike.
When you commit to going after a goal, you are putting yourself on a mission of your own. That mission, your goal, will only be achieved by taking action. Lots of it.
Some of your actions will not be on target. You will miss. That is okay. You are doing something new to you. Missing is expected. It is normal.
When I say analyze, decide, act, I am asking you to do three simple things.
Analyze the next best action to take.
Decide to take that action with full commitment.
Act. Take an all in action.
In leadership, this is simply shoot, move, communicate applied to everyday decisions. Take action, reposition when needed, and keep everyone aligned. Progress comes from coordination, not hesitation.
My SEAL Team TWO Commanding Officer once asked me a question.
“LT Mills, do you know what your job is?”
I responded immediately. “Yes sir. Take care of my team while accomplishing the mission.”
He paused. Leaned toward me. Lowered his voice.
“And how do you do that?”
I started thinking through tactical answers. Before I could respond, he said, “You do it by making decisions. That is your job. If you make the wrong decision, make another one. That is what leaders do. We make decisions and keep moving.”
I have carried that moment with me for over thirty years.
Anytime I feel analysis paralysis creeping in, I replay that conversation. When you are doing something new, you will not always know the right action to take. And when that happens, remember this.
The job is to decide and act.
If you make the wrong decision, you just learned something. Make another decision and keep going.
Keep Charlie Mike’ing.
The only way a goal gets accomplished is through action. The only way you change direction in life is through action. The only way you turn a dream into a reality is by taking action again and again and again.
You analyze what worked and what did not.
You decide on the next action.
You act.
Then you repeat the process until the mission is complete.
The actions required for mission success are not different than they are for goal success. The actual steps may change, but the mindset never does. Principles like Cover and Move, Shoot. Move. Communicate., and Charlie Mike all point to the same truth.
Progress comes from coordinated action and the discipline to keep moving.
This is your year to make your difference, to achieve your goal, to do something new to you that will change your destiny. It’s your call; your goals are up to you and I am here to tell you to getting going – take that first action.
This is your time to Charlie Mike.
Be Unstoppable at achieving your dreams.
Alden