30-second summary: Marines live by three words: improvise, adapt, overcome. It’s a philosophy built on doing more with less and making smart decisions without waiting for permission. One ex-Marine officer brought this mindset to his civilian team—and the lessons translate directly to building resilient, adaptable businesses. Here is how to apply that veteran mindset to fix the “delegate up” habit. Don’t wait for a memo to change your culture. Start building your ‘improvise and adapt’ strategy today.
“Improvise, adapt, overcome.”
You’ve probably seen it on a bumper sticker or a gym poster. The phrase got popular from Eastwood’s ’86 film Heartbreak Ridge, and the Marine Corps basically adopted it as an unofficial motto. But it’s more than motivational fluff–it’s a survival philosophy rooted in one simple reality: you’re not always going to have what you need, so you’d better figure it out anyway.
It’s that “do more with less” mentality. Resourcefulness isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s mission-critical.
So how does that translate to building a team that can actually handle pressure? Retired Marine Colonel Jeff Fultz—who spent 30 years in the Corps before moving into operations leadership—brought this exact mindset to his civilian role. His approach is worth stealing if you want a team that doesn’t crumble when the plan falls apart.
The Transformation: From “Me” to “We” to “Me Again” (But Different)
Wanna know what makes the Marine approach so interesting?
Americans show up to boot camp as individuals. That’s not a flaw–it’s cultural. We’re raised on self-reliance, personal achievement, and looking out for numero uno. The Marines don’t try to erase that. They redirect it.
First, they train recruits to think about each other. Unit cohesion. Teamwork. Understanding your survival depends on the person next to you, and theirs depends on you.
And here’s where it gets good, friends.
Once that collective mindset is locked in, Marines are trained to make independent decisions again–only now, those decisions serve the greater good of the squad. They’ve got the skills, knowledge, and judgment to act without asking for permission. Why? Because they understand the freaking mission.
That’s the arc.
Individualist → team player → independent decision-maker acting for something bigger than themselves.
Full circle, but different.
Adapt or Die
The “improvise, adapt, overcome” mindset was born of necessity. Marines often find themselves in impossible positions with limited resources, unclear intel, and conditions changing by the hour.
As Lt. Col. William Kerrigan, a battalion commander with the 2nd Marine Division, put it: “The future fight is fast and will require leaders to adapt and make decisions quickly.”
Waiting for instructions from higher up? That’s how people get killed.
So the Corps builds adaptability into everything. You assess, you adjust, you move. Plan falls apart? Make a new one. Resources short? Get creative. Environment shifting? Shift with it.
Adapt or die isn’t dramatic language in that context. It’s just accurate. (Yes, we know that sounds intense for a blog post about management. Stay with us.)
Granted, for biz leaders, the stakes are lower–– but the principle holds. Markets change. Clients change. That strategy you spent six months perfecting? Already outdated, friend. If your team can’t adapt without a memo from leadership, you’re always playing catch-up.
Empowerment All the Way Down
When Fultz moved into civilian ops, his first target was the “delegate up” habit–where every decision climbs the chain until someone with a fancier title makes the call.
His fix? Super simple! Just push decision-making down to the lowest levels. Give people the intel they need, make sure they understand the mission, and trust them to act.
Kerrigan’s approach is the same: “I need the most junior Marine and Sailor to have the confidence to make a decision on behalf of their team.”
What does that look like in practice? Well, in the Marine Corps, Corporals handle most day-to-day decisions. The average Corporal is twenty-two. Babies, basically. But trained babies with clear expectations and a culture that actually means it when they say “you’re empowered.”
The alternative? Leaders who say they want empowered teams but still attend every meeting to “weigh in.” That’s not empowerment. That’s more red tape.
If you don’t empower others, it’s nearly impossible to get a team moving. You become the bottleneck.
Resourcefulness Is Non-Negotiable
This “do more with less” mentality isn’t about being cheap. It’s about building people who find solutions rather than list obstacles.
Problem solvers don’t wait for perfect conditions. They observe, they adapt, they act. They’re comfortable being wrong sometimes, because they know the only real mistake is one you didn’t learn from. And here’s the thing–problem solvers come in different flavors. Some lead with gut instinct, others with data. Honestly, the best teams have a mix.
That means hiring matters. If your process selects for credentials and polish over resourcefulness and initiative, you’re building a team that needs instructions for everything.
Your goal is to hire independent thinkers and doers. Then… actually let them think and do. Novel, right?
Building Teams That Bend Without Breaking
Resilient teams aren’t born. They’re built through shared expectations, clear communication, and leaders who walk the talk.
The key is making sure everyone understands the “why” behind what they’re doing–not just the task, but the purpose. When people understand the mission, they can make smart calls even when the original plan falls apart.
And the plan will fall apart. That’s not pessimism. That’s just Tuesday.
Your organization moves at the speed of your slowest approval process. Train the judgment. Trust the people. Remove yourself as the bottleneck.
Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.
Ready to build a team that thinks for themselves and executes without hand-holding? Let’s get to work.
