Leadership Under Fire: The Framework for Leading When Everything’s on the Line

Leadership Under Fire: People, Process, & Persistence | Joseph Polanin - Founder Alaka'i Group

Episode snapshot
From special operations to the boardroom. Joe shows how vision, strategy, and talent work only when they work together. We cover hiring for values, over communication that actually builds trust, killing silos without calendar bloat, and taking prudent risk instead of chasing a zero-defect fantasy.

Highlights

• Vision people love: Keep it short, bold, and shared. Maximum two sentences. State the future as a “we will” outcome, not an aspiration.
• Stop the technical hero worship: Great operators aren’t automatically great leaders. Hire for values and culture fit, then teach skills.
• Over communication that lands: Tight say-do alignment, clear themes, the right channels for distributed teams.
• Silos to unity: Simple cross-functional cadence. Each lead shares wins and asks for help on 1–3 blockers. Results, not theater.
• Prudent risk: Know why you’re taking it, what you don’t know, and back your people when they act with intent.
• P3 System: People, Processes, Persistence across four phases: Discovery → Initial Assessment → Strategy Development → Implementation.
• Rapid Fire: Burn It or Build It: Culture starts at the top (build), return-to-office mandates (burn), accountability as an always-on mindset, leaders who listen, rewards that are prompt, appropriate, and public.
• One behavior to double execution: Do less, think strategically more. Put it on the calendar. Involve other leaders.

Timestamps
00:30 Intro and Joe’s background
02:11 Military principles that do and don’t translate
04:18 The trap of technical proficiency in leadership
07:32 Writing and deploying a real vision
11:50 Pulling vision through the org without a say-do gap
14:30 Hiring for values and culture fit
18:06 Prudent risk vs zero-defect culture
21:49 Killing silos with a simple operating cadence
27:51 The P3 System and four-phase approach
32:31 What breaks most: people, processes, or persistence
42:01 Burn It or Build It
49:31 One behavior to change this quarter
52:03 Where to find Joe

Who this helps

• CEOs and COOs leading change in mid-market and enterprise
• Functional leaders stuck in silos who need cross-team momentum
• HR and Talent leaders hiring for leadership impact
• Veterans moving into civilian leadership roles

Connect

• The Alaka’i Leadership Group: thealakaigroup.com
• Email: [e-mail]
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephpolanin

• Website → DigitalRebelsConsulting.com
• Linktree → https://linktr.ee/digitalrebelsconsulting
• Socials → Follow us on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/marcccrosby
• Email → [e-mail]
• Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/burn-the-playbook/id1828969451
• Burn The Playbook Website → https://www.buzzsprout.com/2522863

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