May 2 marks the fifth anniversary of the operation that killed the world’s most wanted terrorist, Osama Bin Laden. His death was the culmination of a global manhunt that lasted more than a decade and assumed extreme urgency after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The hunt for Bin Laden from 2009–2010 yielded many lessons about managing a large, complex organization that is focused on varied missions under intense pressure. These management lessons are relevant far beyond Langley.