In Carnivore Leadership, Ramón Colón-López presents a “take no prisoners” leadership approach.

Colón-López rose from a hardscrabble background in Puerto Rico to join the Air Force, mounting a career that led him to become the U.S. military’s most senior enlisted service member. Here, he makes the distinction between carnivore and herbivore leaders. Unlike herbivores, carnivores don’t wait for circumstances to determine events; their actions determine circumstances.

Colón-López presents 20 maxims pertaining to carnivorous leaders. He calls these “Silver Bullets.” They include such advice as “Always leave the workplace better than how you found it”; “Time management is a waste of time. Concentrate on ‘action’ management instead”; and “Never pass up a great opportunity to shut the hell up if you have nothing productive to say.”

Other Silver Bullets are less advice than general principles, such as “Loyalty is not mindless obedience,” or “Luck is when preparation and opportunity meet.” Some apply to leaders, while others address professionals at any level of an organization (“Image is a first impression; daily demeanor is a lasting impression”).

The author dedicates a chapter to each individual Silver Bullet and relates his relevant personal experience. There’s practical wisdom in Colón-López’s meditations on life lessons learned from his exemplary career as a military leader. However, while his aggressive, pedal-to-the-metal style might apply to leaders in military, law enforcement, or a pro sports team, it’s hard to see how this carnivorous approach might apply to other environments.

It’s also difficult to identify a specific audience for this book. Filled with personal reflections, motivational messages, and assorted points to ponder, Colón-López’s work mixes genres, sometimes reading like a memoir, sometimes like a business management text. It’s unclear whether he’s addressing primarily or exclusively a military audience or targeting others, as well.

Despite such flaws, leaders in more aggressive working situations will find some solid advice here. Business leaders in complex, fast-changing environments with many stakeholders, however, will want to look elsewhere.