The Gouge, in military parlance, is what you really need to know in order to be smarter than the situation you are in. As a US Navy SEAL, who became a Vice Admiral, Bob Harward lived by the Gouge and used it as a guiding principle for leadership and day-to-day life. More specifically, his success in his military and corporate careers was predicated on the people who worked with him, and for him. Their ability to meet their personal and professional objectives, ensured his success. The Gouge was a persistent and proactive focus on their success, to ensure they, and he, could succeed in all of their endeavors. Now, he is sharing it with the world. In this book, he uses life stories to illustrate how anyone can use the Gouge, not only for their own well-being but also for any organization or community. At its foundation, it is your personal contract with people and humanity.

In this book, Harward boils all of this down into the Gouge philosophy and its key ingredients: on how to move yourself and the people around you forward, using the best information and experienced based knowledge, so that you too can live by the Gouge.