The pace of change seems to grow more urgent every year. Some see it as an attribute of leadership in the 21st century—right up there with judgment and courage. Consider then, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who spread the speed creed 70 years before it was cool.

John Paul Jones captained a small ship for a country that didn’t even exist, fighting against the greatest sea power of the age. A full century ahead of his time, he envisioned the United States as a global maritime force. Jones thought strategically, making a connection between naval power and world domination. In a word, he had vision. And he did not allow current realities to intrude on that vision...

German Gen. Erwin Rommel earned a reputation during World War II as a brilliant field tactician whose aggressive strikes often dazed and confused larger enemy forces. But Rommel alienated junior officers by expecting perfection without keeping them apprised of his thinking.

Keith Cowing, a software entrepreneur who has worked for Goldman Sachs and Lockheed Martin, respects the discipline, tenacity and elite performance of Navy SEALs and believes we can learn a lot from them. Here are seven lessons from the SEALs, whom Cowing notes are able to unleash military firepower on groups 10 times their size:

Part of being a leader is the ability to sort the important from the unimportant. Case in point: U.S. Army generals’ tolerance of Harvey Gough, a colorful Texan whose patriotism and generosity are exceeded only by his tendency to flout the rules.