The Psychology of Winning: How a Special Ops Cop Prepared for Being Shot 14 Times
Most leaders avoid thinking about their worst-case scenario. Derrick McManus mapped his out and accepted the possibility.
On a seemingly ordinary Tuesday in May 1994, McManus—a Special Operations police officer for South Australia’s STAR Group—was shot 14 times with a high-powered rifle in under five seconds.He spent three hours bleeding out on the ground while the offender fired roughly 2,000 rounds.Yet, his incredible survival didn't just begin on that dirt driveway; it started five years earlier with a brutally honest, fearless conversation.
In his recent appearance on the Beyond the Boardroom podcast, McManus delivered an uncompromising look at the true psychology of winning. His story is the ultimate proof that extreme mental resilience isn't built in the moment of crisis—it is built in the unapologetic preparation for it.
Confronting the Uncomfortable Truth
Five years before the siege, upon joining the elite STAR Group, McManus sat his wife down for an open, honest, and confronting conversation. He laid out the raw reality of his career:
"I may be shot and injured. I may be shot and killed"
He didn't offer spin or empty platitudes. Instead, he asked her exactly what her life would look like if he died, and whether she would want to go on and get married. He wanted his support for her future to be completely unambiguous, ensuring she wouldn't have to guess what his family would think if she moved on. He even gave her precise instructions on what to tell their children about the man he was and the choices he made.
This is what it means to cut through the noise. By addressing the absolute worst-case scenario head-on, McManus removed the ambiguity that breeds panic.
"Anything Better Than Death is a Bonus"
McManus took his preparation a step further, telling his wife that if he survived but spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair, he would find a way to enjoy life as long as he could interact with his children. He made this conscious acceptance long before a bullet ever struck him.
When disaster finally struck and McManus was lying on the ground with a severed radial artery, a destroyed Achilles tendon, and multiple bullet wounds, his brain didn't waste time on shock or denial. Because he had already done his "therapy" five years prior, he was able to remain deeply logical, control his heart rate, and force blood back into his prefrontal cortex to maintain elite, creative thought.
(If you want to understand more about how the human brain is wired for threat responses and how to stop fighting panic, check out our interview with psychotherapist Joshua Fletcher on the science of stress)
The Whiteboard Exercise: Actionable Resilience
In business, relying on blind optimism is a fatal liability. To build bulletproof business resilience, McManus utilises a "whiteboard exercise" that forces leaders to face their reality.
Here is the signal over spin—do this today:
- Map out the severe challenges and changes you might realistically face in the next 12 months to 5 years.
- Identify exactly how those challenges will make you feel.
- List the tangible resources required to deal with them.
- Define the specific triggers that tell you it is time to access those resources and act.
You cannot control the chaos of the market, the boardroom, or life, but you can control your baseline level of preparation.
Stop hoping for the best and start preparing for the reality of business and life. Listen to the full Derrick McManus interview on Beyond with Aleksandra King now to master your own mental resilience and unapologetic success.
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