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It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy
The story of Captain D. Michael Abrashoff and his command of USS Benfold has become legendary inside and outside the Navy. Now Abrashoff offers this fascinating tale of top-down change for anyone trying to navigate today's uncertain business seas.
When Captain Abrashoff took over as commander of USS Benfold, a ship armed with every cutting-edge system available, it was like a business that had all the latest technology but only some of the productivity. Knowing that responsibility for improving performance rested with him, he realized he had to improve his own leadership skills before he could improve his ship. Within months he created a crew of confident and inspired problem-solvers eager to take the initiative and take responsibility for their actions. The slogan on board became "It's your ship," and Benfold was soon recognized far and wide as a model of naval efficiency.
How did Abrashoff do it? Against the backdrop of today's United States Navy-Benfold was a key player in our Persian Gulf fleet-Abrashoff shares his secrets of successful management including:
* See the ship through the eyes of the crew: By soliciting a sailor's suggestions, Abrashoff drastically reduced tedious chores that provided little additional value.
* Communicate, communicate, communicate: The more Abrashoff communicated the plan, the better the crew's performance. His crew would eventually call him "Megaphone Mike," since they heard from him so often.
* Create discipline by focusing on purpose: Discipline skyrocketed when Abrashoff's crew believed that what they were doing was important.
* Listen aggressively: After learning that many sailors wanted to use the GI Bill, Abrashoff brought a test official aboard the ship-and held the SATs forty miles off the Iraqi coast.
From achieving amazing cost savings to winning the highest gunnery score in the Pacific Fleet, Captain Abrashoff's extraordinary campaign sent shock waves through the U.S. Navy. It can help you change the course of your ship, no matter where your business battles are fought.
When Captain Abrashoff took over as commander of USS Benfold, a ship armed with every cutting-edge system available, it was like a business that had all the latest technology but only some of the productivity. Knowing that responsibility for improving performance rested with him, he realized he had to improve his own leadership skills before he could improve his ship. Within months he created a crew of confident and inspired problem-solvers eager to take the initiative and take responsibility for their actions. The slogan on board became "It's your ship," and Benfold was soon recognized far and wide as a model of naval efficiency.
How did Abrashoff do it? Against the backdrop of today's United States Navy-Benfold was a key player in our Persian Gulf fleet-Abrashoff shares his secrets of successful management including:
* See the ship through the eyes of the crew: By soliciting a sailor's suggestions, Abrashoff drastically reduced tedious chores that provided little additional value.
* Communicate, communicate, communicate: The more Abrashoff communicated the plan, the better the crew's performance. His crew would eventually call him "Megaphone Mike," since they heard from him so often.
* Create discipline by focusing on purpose: Discipline skyrocketed when Abrashoff's crew believed that what they were doing was important.
* Listen aggressively: After learning that many sailors wanted to use the GI Bill, Abrashoff brought a test official aboard the ship-and held the SATs forty miles off the Iraqi coast.
From achieving amazing cost savings to winning the highest gunnery score in the Pacific Fleet, Captain Abrashoff's extraordinary campaign sent shock waves through the U.S. Navy. It can help you change the course of your ship, no matter where your business battles are fought.
212 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
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8801 people want to read
About the author
D. Michael Abrashoff
19 books71 followersD. Michael Abrashoff served for almost twenty years in the U.S. Navy, culminating in a tour of duty as captain of the $1 billion warship USS Benfold. After leaving the navy, he wrote a bestseller about progressive leadership called It’s Your Ship. He now lectures to business audiences around the country.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 740 reviews
September 20, 2010
Find another management book. I think that the author is a little bit full of himself and his accomplishments. The leadership/management techniques that are identified in each chapter are good but not really new news.
Having spent some time in the Navy and seen how the surface warefare (the people that drive ships) community operates I have a feeling the techniques were new to him. There are a number of things that the author mentions that just sound a little fishy to me. He seems to claim that young enlisted sailors were not allowed off the ship on liberty. There were liberty rules that each rank were supposed to follow but I have never heard where individuals were not allowed to go on liberty just because they were junior in rank. His claim that he gave out 115 medals during one year is another thing I found hard to believe. It always seemed to me that giving out medals was followed fairly closely by the bureaucracy. Maybe he just went out and bought them himself? I agree that all sailors should be recognized for their efforts. I do not agree that everyone deserves a medal just for doing a "good" job. That just decreases the value of the medal for those who actually went above and beyond.
Overall I was pretty disappointed with this book. The book was more of an advertisement of the author and the Benfold. This greatly decreased any type of management techniques that were described. Recommend looking for another book.
Having spent some time in the Navy and seen how the surface warefare (the people that drive ships) community operates I have a feeling the techniques were new to him. There are a number of things that the author mentions that just sound a little fishy to me. He seems to claim that young enlisted sailors were not allowed off the ship on liberty. There were liberty rules that each rank were supposed to follow but I have never heard where individuals were not allowed to go on liberty just because they were junior in rank. His claim that he gave out 115 medals during one year is another thing I found hard to believe. It always seemed to me that giving out medals was followed fairly closely by the bureaucracy. Maybe he just went out and bought them himself? I agree that all sailors should be recognized for their efforts. I do not agree that everyone deserves a medal just for doing a "good" job. That just decreases the value of the medal for those who actually went above and beyond.
Overall I was pretty disappointed with this book. The book was more of an advertisement of the author and the Benfold. This greatly decreased any type of management techniques that were described. Recommend looking for another book.
May 27, 2011
This summary is taken from http://managingleadership.com/blog/20...
The U.S. Navy is perhaps the most technically-oriented service in the American military. Officers work their way up by developing and demonstrating comprehensive and immediate skills in the numerous individual systems that make ships responsive in combat. The focus here tends to be on technical competence – not necessarily on the sort of personal leadership ability that is emphasized more during an officer‘s development in the other services, especially the Army and the Marines.
This is a reflection of the circumstances of the varying units when in combat. When an Army or Marine unit is engaging an enemy force, often only the leadership environment assiduously and continuously cultivated up to that point, and given immediate and individual expression under that stress, can seem to be holding a unit together.
But aboard a Navy ship at war, there is no danger of anyone slipping away into the hills. Everyone knows that both their unit’s victory and their individual survival depend on the technical knowledge and ability of the one man issuing orders from the captain‘s chair on the bridge. And if you are ever aboard a ship that goes to general quarters, you will see that reality in breathtaking action – everything and everyone responds as one to their training, and to the skipper‘s command.
And yet, the Navy consistently seems to produce some of the most impressive individuals in terms of what is more traditionally understood as leadership that I’ve seen in the military. Out of that technical development pipeline come some truly remarkable ship’s captains. How does that happen? We’ll be touching on that general question over the next few days.
But here’s one Navy officer’s take on it: Captain D. Michael Abrashoff is the best-selling author of It’s Your Ship, which launched a busy speaking career for him on his retirement from the service. In this new book, It’s Our Ship, he undertakes to emphasize a point he feels he insufficiently addressed in his first book.
One of his purposes here is to point out how everyone in the unit must be engaged not only to advance the unit’s goals, but to intelligently and proactively integrate their own disparate disciplines in doing so. He does a fine job with this. In particular, he provides one of the best and most illuminating descriptions I’ve seen of an important executive threshold, the passing from specialist to generalist management.
There are a number of genuinely practical lessons for managers at all levels in this book, effectively illustrated with stories from the author’s experience as skipper of a powerful Navy warship, and amplified with vignettes from some of the civilian organizations he has worked with since his Navy days.
One thing the author makes no bones about, however, is his belief in the importance of individual leadership. Indeed, this book may have the densest population of the word “leader” and its derivatives that you will have encountered in some time.
In my view, this is a weakness. From “tales from the front lines” books like this I want to learn what you did, not how singular you are for having done it, or how electric an effect you had on your staff.
For example, members of the author’s crew don’t seem to be able to do anything while under his command, or to make something of themselves subsequently, without making him “proud” of them. This may seem like a minor blemish, but it mars the text repeatedly. It reveals a distinctly paternalistic and patronizing suggestion that these people’s accomplishments are essentially the product of the author’s leadership, as though their individual abilities and characters, while necessary prerequisites to their successes, were not sufficient ones. Only under his leadership were they able to find themselves and to blossom.
One major surprise for me arose from one of the author’s stated purposes for writing this book. He begins it with a remarkable admission concerning his career as skipper: “. . . I never did one thing to help another ship in the group in the two years I spent as [my ship's] commander.” In fact, he goes on, he practically gloated in besting his fellow ship captains.
He commendably acknowledges this as a shortcoming. It is one he dedicates the book, at least partially, to examining in order to help his readers avoid his mistake.
But when you turn over the last page of the book, you will find that this has not been done. There is a brief discussion of how he thinks he should have gone to his own boss and suggested how the latter ought to establish policy to incentivize the author and his fellow skippers to work better together – a remarkably presumptuous endeavor for a subordinate line – rather than a staff, say, an executive – officer to undertake.
But there is no discussion of professional networking and mutually beneficial collaboration that the skippers could have initiated on their own. This happens all the time in the military, despite the very real competition. Rather, after the introductory revelation of this heartfelt failure, we hear no more of it. Why is that?
This is a helpful book, but I do strongly caution the reader to tread skeptically and carefully through the purported lessons on leadership in this volume. Try to look past the peculiarly insistent glorification of the intensely self-referential leader that is woven throughout the text, to the many truly insightful stories about organizational goals advanced and staff development accomplished that are there, as well.
For those with no military experience, this is a genuinely eye-opening introduction to the world-class management challenges faced by one alert, proactive, and, in the end, highly effective US Navy officer. It will also offer many actionable ideas for civilian managers at all levels both for administering their organizations and developing their own careers. Pick up a copy. Just (as with everything you read) keep a good lookout as you navigate your way through it!
The U.S. Navy is perhaps the most technically-oriented service in the American military. Officers work their way up by developing and demonstrating comprehensive and immediate skills in the numerous individual systems that make ships responsive in combat. The focus here tends to be on technical competence – not necessarily on the sort of personal leadership ability that is emphasized more during an officer‘s development in the other services, especially the Army and the Marines.
This is a reflection of the circumstances of the varying units when in combat. When an Army or Marine unit is engaging an enemy force, often only the leadership environment assiduously and continuously cultivated up to that point, and given immediate and individual expression under that stress, can seem to be holding a unit together.
But aboard a Navy ship at war, there is no danger of anyone slipping away into the hills. Everyone knows that both their unit’s victory and their individual survival depend on the technical knowledge and ability of the one man issuing orders from the captain‘s chair on the bridge. And if you are ever aboard a ship that goes to general quarters, you will see that reality in breathtaking action – everything and everyone responds as one to their training, and to the skipper‘s command.
And yet, the Navy consistently seems to produce some of the most impressive individuals in terms of what is more traditionally understood as leadership that I’ve seen in the military. Out of that technical development pipeline come some truly remarkable ship’s captains. How does that happen? We’ll be touching on that general question over the next few days.
But here’s one Navy officer’s take on it: Captain D. Michael Abrashoff is the best-selling author of It’s Your Ship, which launched a busy speaking career for him on his retirement from the service. In this new book, It’s Our Ship, he undertakes to emphasize a point he feels he insufficiently addressed in his first book.
One of his purposes here is to point out how everyone in the unit must be engaged not only to advance the unit’s goals, but to intelligently and proactively integrate their own disparate disciplines in doing so. He does a fine job with this. In particular, he provides one of the best and most illuminating descriptions I’ve seen of an important executive threshold, the passing from specialist to generalist management.
There are a number of genuinely practical lessons for managers at all levels in this book, effectively illustrated with stories from the author’s experience as skipper of a powerful Navy warship, and amplified with vignettes from some of the civilian organizations he has worked with since his Navy days.
One thing the author makes no bones about, however, is his belief in the importance of individual leadership. Indeed, this book may have the densest population of the word “leader” and its derivatives that you will have encountered in some time.
In my view, this is a weakness. From “tales from the front lines” books like this I want to learn what you did, not how singular you are for having done it, or how electric an effect you had on your staff.
For example, members of the author’s crew don’t seem to be able to do anything while under his command, or to make something of themselves subsequently, without making him “proud” of them. This may seem like a minor blemish, but it mars the text repeatedly. It reveals a distinctly paternalistic and patronizing suggestion that these people’s accomplishments are essentially the product of the author’s leadership, as though their individual abilities and characters, while necessary prerequisites to their successes, were not sufficient ones. Only under his leadership were they able to find themselves and to blossom.
One major surprise for me arose from one of the author’s stated purposes for writing this book. He begins it with a remarkable admission concerning his career as skipper: “. . . I never did one thing to help another ship in the group in the two years I spent as [my ship's] commander.” In fact, he goes on, he practically gloated in besting his fellow ship captains.
He commendably acknowledges this as a shortcoming. It is one he dedicates the book, at least partially, to examining in order to help his readers avoid his mistake.
But when you turn over the last page of the book, you will find that this has not been done. There is a brief discussion of how he thinks he should have gone to his own boss and suggested how the latter ought to establish policy to incentivize the author and his fellow skippers to work better together – a remarkably presumptuous endeavor for a subordinate line – rather than a staff, say, an executive – officer to undertake.
But there is no discussion of professional networking and mutually beneficial collaboration that the skippers could have initiated on their own. This happens all the time in the military, despite the very real competition. Rather, after the introductory revelation of this heartfelt failure, we hear no more of it. Why is that?
This is a helpful book, but I do strongly caution the reader to tread skeptically and carefully through the purported lessons on leadership in this volume. Try to look past the peculiarly insistent glorification of the intensely self-referential leader that is woven throughout the text, to the many truly insightful stories about organizational goals advanced and staff development accomplished that are there, as well.
For those with no military experience, this is a genuinely eye-opening introduction to the world-class management challenges faced by one alert, proactive, and, in the end, highly effective US Navy officer. It will also offer many actionable ideas for civilian managers at all levels both for administering their organizations and developing their own careers. Pick up a copy. Just (as with everything you read) keep a good lookout as you navigate your way through it!
May 16, 2011
Good book if you are a civilian. If you are a Surface Warfare Officer in the Navy, you must refrain from throwing the book across the room.
I put off reading this book for 10 years and I finally decided to get around to it on this deployment. As Executive Officer of a cruiser and growing up in the Navy post CDR Abrashoff's command tour, I am astonished at the level of self horn blowing. I heard this guy speak at the Naval Academy about 10 years ago when he got out. Now, mind you, he resigned at the 18 year mark as a Commander although the front cover says he was a Captain. He was selected for Captain but resigned two years shy of retirement. Who walks away from that especially if you are THAT AWESOME according to his book?
I have actually served with some of the folks he mentions in the book. Two of his junior officers are in Command now and a young sailor was a Chief who worked for me a few years ago.
If you are a hard core SWO, read this book for amusement purposes only. Of course I might be the very officer type he is railing against.
If you are a civilian running a company, enjoy. However, we have not made many changes since he wrote this book. As a matter of fact, ships have reduced manning by 20% since his writing and we are pushing people out of the door and no longer fighting to retain them.
I put off reading this book for 10 years and I finally decided to get around to it on this deployment. As Executive Officer of a cruiser and growing up in the Navy post CDR Abrashoff's command tour, I am astonished at the level of self horn blowing. I heard this guy speak at the Naval Academy about 10 years ago when he got out. Now, mind you, he resigned at the 18 year mark as a Commander although the front cover says he was a Captain. He was selected for Captain but resigned two years shy of retirement. Who walks away from that especially if you are THAT AWESOME according to his book?
I have actually served with some of the folks he mentions in the book. Two of his junior officers are in Command now and a young sailor was a Chief who worked for me a few years ago.
If you are a hard core SWO, read this book for amusement purposes only. Of course I might be the very officer type he is railing against.
If you are a civilian running a company, enjoy. However, we have not made many changes since he wrote this book. As a matter of fact, ships have reduced manning by 20% since his writing and we are pushing people out of the door and no longer fighting to retain them.
December 22, 2014
I'm sorry and guilty for giving it 2 stars when everyone else seems to have rated it so highly. But I'm really sorry it doesn't work out for me. In my eyes, I see this book in the following way:
Theory.
Theory.
Theory.
Some incident that happened (it can connect to whatever theory you want).
More Theory.
More Theory.
Some lecture.
Hard work is good bla bla.
Some other incident.
Repeat.
This is not what I was looking for. I was hoping for some kind of internal struggle maybe (in situations where we're not sure and then what decision do we take). One employee does well and he rewards him with a medal immediately. That's great! Except the only problem is in our day to day industry almost everyday someone or the other does something noteworthy. I can't just keep handing out medals or bonuses. My budget is limited.
No. What I want is what to do when someone is misbehaving. Or I'm hearing some bad rumors. Or my boss just doesn't listen. In his case he makes attempts to communicate with his boss that yields him success. Well, if that happened so easily I would call it luck. Trying to communicate an idea, trying to put yourself out there - that's not what is lacking in managers I feel. It's when you're working with a lunatic in some way - someone who doesn't listen to you at all, or a micro-manager, or someone trying to impress his own superior way overboard, or too big a responsbiility is placed on your shoulders that's even greater than you capabilies such that you feel uneasy. And then how do you go about learning, making mistakes etc?
This guy doesn't seem to make any mistakes. It feels like he's been successful without knowing the amount of struggle that other people are going through. And finally he's put together a couple of high level theories after he looks back at his experiences. That's not what I need. I want to read about a manager who's pathetic intially and slowly slowly learns some lessons, still makes more mistakes and finally learns how to say what, what to do when etc.
So I'm gonna have to give it a 2, sorry.
Theory.
Theory.
Theory.
Some incident that happened (it can connect to whatever theory you want).
More Theory.
More Theory.
Some lecture.
Hard work is good bla bla.
Some other incident.
Repeat.
This is not what I was looking for. I was hoping for some kind of internal struggle maybe (in situations where we're not sure and then what decision do we take). One employee does well and he rewards him with a medal immediately. That's great! Except the only problem is in our day to day industry almost everyday someone or the other does something noteworthy. I can't just keep handing out medals or bonuses. My budget is limited.
No. What I want is what to do when someone is misbehaving. Or I'm hearing some bad rumors. Or my boss just doesn't listen. In his case he makes attempts to communicate with his boss that yields him success. Well, if that happened so easily I would call it luck. Trying to communicate an idea, trying to put yourself out there - that's not what is lacking in managers I feel. It's when you're working with a lunatic in some way - someone who doesn't listen to you at all, or a micro-manager, or someone trying to impress his own superior way overboard, or too big a responsbiility is placed on your shoulders that's even greater than you capabilies such that you feel uneasy. And then how do you go about learning, making mistakes etc?
This guy doesn't seem to make any mistakes. It feels like he's been successful without knowing the amount of struggle that other people are going through. And finally he's put together a couple of high level theories after he looks back at his experiences. That's not what I need. I want to read about a manager who's pathetic intially and slowly slowly learns some lessons, still makes more mistakes and finally learns how to say what, what to do when etc.
So I'm gonna have to give it a 2, sorry.
January 23, 2008
Abrashoff proves that crushing bureaucracy is no excuse for refusing to try new management styles. Within the confines of the Navy, where he could theoretically order personal to perform their best, Abrashoff finds ways - without violating regulations - of motivating his crew to want to perform their best. This book is an excellent read for anyone who thinks their workplace could be better.
October 8, 2013
There were some good ideas in this book. However, by the end the self-congratulatory tone started to grate on my nerves. To be fair, he does give credit where credit is due. This was assigned reading for a recent conference I attended for work. One of my co-workers re-named it "My Ship Don't Stink". However, there were definitely good things to glean from this. Much of the message is to treat people in the manner in which they would like to be treated, show confidence in them, and the results will speak for themselves. However, I can see how such commonsense principles might not go over so well in the Navy, so his experiences in that regard were interesting.
Here's a few good quotes from this:
"The signals you send are important. You train your crew how to operate through every decision you make and every action you take."
"I am convinced that with good leadership, freedom does not weaken discipline - it strengthens it. Free people have a powerful incentive not to screw up."
Here's a few good quotes from this:
"The signals you send are important. You train your crew how to operate through every decision you make and every action you take."
"I am convinced that with good leadership, freedom does not weaken discipline - it strengthens it. Free people have a powerful incentive not to screw up."
January 11, 2025
This book is life changing especially for those who do not come from disciplined backgrounds or who have not had positive role models in their life previously. This book changed my perspective on interacting with people and seeking to understand why people do the things they do, and why they react certain ways in business. I have already begun to implement these tips into my management style and not only has my entire team become the driving force for sales in my region, but they are happy to log in everyday and do their best for the team and the organization. Positive reinforcement and encouragement 100% works, everyone should read this book
February 12, 2022
I found this to be a solid, common sense approach to leadership. Very readable and worth picking up.
As a hospital leader, I do my best to follow many of the same principles Abrashoff discusses. That said, I know with every decision I make, there are disagreements and people that feel things could have gone in a different direction. That's fine. Their perspective. That said, when Abrashoff shares his near 100% success rate, buy-in, and enthusiastic team response at every turn, I can't but feel like he's either hiding the magic sauce or something is slightly over-inflated. If he's seriously that good, I bow down. I'm also not willing to spend 70-80 hours a week absorbed in my job. Not anymore. That's just my personal musings. Overall, well worth the read.
I'd rate this a PG.
As a hospital leader, I do my best to follow many of the same principles Abrashoff discusses. That said, I know with every decision I make, there are disagreements and people that feel things could have gone in a different direction. That's fine. Their perspective. That said, when Abrashoff shares his near 100% success rate, buy-in, and enthusiastic team response at every turn, I can't but feel like he's either hiding the magic sauce or something is slightly over-inflated. If he's seriously that good, I bow down. I'm also not willing to spend 70-80 hours a week absorbed in my job. Not anymore. That's just my personal musings. Overall, well worth the read.
I'd rate this a PG.
January 17, 2014
Let me try to sum this book up for you:
"Hello my name is Captain D. Michael Abraschoff and this is a book about how all the things I've done led to [superlative][nouns], in fact the best [qualifiers] I've ever seen. All of my decisions have had profound and everlasting effects on my environment of which are still in use today and every person in those environments has gone on to bigger and better things.
I've also been made aware of some correlations to business, so I've taken the time to sprinkle some business jargon in this book too. I hope that you too, in concordance with my commandments, can have selective visions about your efforts."
2.5 stars for what should have been a memoir.
"Hello my name is Captain D. Michael Abraschoff and this is a book about how all the things I've done led to [superlative][nouns], in fact the best [qualifiers] I've ever seen. All of my decisions have had profound and everlasting effects on my environment of which are still in use today and every person in those environments has gone on to bigger and better things.
I've also been made aware of some correlations to business, so I've taken the time to sprinkle some business jargon in this book too. I hope that you too, in concordance with my commandments, can have selective visions about your efforts."
2.5 stars for what should have been a memoir.
November 23, 2023
This book was a recommendation for a leadership meeting that I attended. What an insightful read and a value to any business
August 23, 2012
This is my favorite book on business management. One day a director of sales handed it to me, and I casually put it aside, as there were hundreds of books at home patiently waiting for their turn to be read. Danged if I didn't keep stealing glances at the cover. I knew it was watching me. So I thought, why not read it at work? The books at home would never know. Separation of church and state, so to speak.
LOOK FOR RESULTS, NOT SALUTES
Microsoft has been in a freefall since it focused on Salutes over Results. Once a company starts growing, the obsession with offices and cubicle height overtakes the focus on results and customer satisfaction.
COMMUNICATE PURPOSE AND MEANING
Yahoo might rise again if the CEO can get her point across, which is standardization and goal achievement. A leader must present a common goal for all to strive for, otherwise everyone is only thinking about their own workload.
GO BEYOND STANDARD PROCEDURE
I work in a company where those who think outside the box are castigated and ostracized. Steve Jobs would have been fired here. The author rightly points out that everyone must push the envelope, outside the rigidity of SOPs. Kaizen.
Abrashoff makes some very basic points, such as being able to delegate, because you can't be on every ship at the same time. This isn't an intellectual exercise or a fable about cheese-obsessed mice, just a terrific take on the difference between being a manager and being a leader.
Managers do the thing right. Leaders do the right thing.
Book Season = Year Round
LOOK FOR RESULTS, NOT SALUTES
Microsoft has been in a freefall since it focused on Salutes over Results. Once a company starts growing, the obsession with offices and cubicle height overtakes the focus on results and customer satisfaction.
COMMUNICATE PURPOSE AND MEANING
Yahoo might rise again if the CEO can get her point across, which is standardization and goal achievement. A leader must present a common goal for all to strive for, otherwise everyone is only thinking about their own workload.
GO BEYOND STANDARD PROCEDURE
I work in a company where those who think outside the box are castigated and ostracized. Steve Jobs would have been fired here. The author rightly points out that everyone must push the envelope, outside the rigidity of SOPs. Kaizen.
Abrashoff makes some very basic points, such as being able to delegate, because you can't be on every ship at the same time. This isn't an intellectual exercise or a fable about cheese-obsessed mice, just a terrific take on the difference between being a manager and being a leader.
Managers do the thing right. Leaders do the right thing.
Book Season = Year Round
October 24, 2020
This book presents a lot of good common sense leadership lessons that I will look to implement in my life. His lessons show that the burden of leadership involves being very self-aware of all the effects your actions on your followers, and how the little things (that really don’t take that much effort) can have positive ripple effects on an organization. I love the sea stories that the captain shared and would recommend this book to anyone looking to be a genuine leader in today’s individualistic culture.
June 13, 2014
Reading the reviews before listening to the audio book I thought It's Your Ship was going to be very arrogant and boastful... What I took away was that the officer was proud of what he was able to accomplish despite a culture that was working against him.
I think this is a very good read for leaders who have been in a leadership role for a few years. Some of the topics that he suggests like knowing when to break rules, require a bit of experience and could easily be done incorrectly.
I did enjoy this book and think captain did a good job showing how the skills he learned could be applied to business.
I think this is a very good read for leaders who have been in a leadership role for a few years. Some of the topics that he suggests like knowing when to break rules, require a bit of experience and could easily be done incorrectly.
I did enjoy this book and think captain did a good job showing how the skills he learned could be applied to business.
March 6, 2022
I'm a bit torn on this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed the story of how Captain Abrashoff transformed the USS Benfold from one of the worst to one of the best performing ships in the navy, and I agreed with most of the management/leadership lessons in this book. On the other hand, something about the way those lessons were presented wasn't sticky or effective.
I think part of the problem is the book tells you what you need to do, but not how to do it. As it turns out, the "what" is fairly obvious, but the "how" is what's tricky. As an illustration of this, consider the chapters in the book. Each chapter captures one lesson: e.g., Ch 2 is "Lead by Example," Ch 5 is "Create a Climate of Trust," and Ch 7 is "Take Calculated Risks." These are all good ideas, but in some sense, these are all obvious. I would guess most people know that creating a climate of trust or taking calculated risks is a good idea; what most people don't know is how to actually accomplish that.
As a result, after finishing the book, I walked away with only a handful of new insights, mostly from chapters that had concrete examples or techniques I could apply in my own life:
1. Ownership
"It's your ship" isn't just the title of the book, but a refrain that Captain Abrashoff told to every member of his crew. That is, instead of having everyone check every little decision with him, Captain Abrashoff would routinely say, "it's your ship, you decide, and take responsibility for what happens." When everyone on a navy ship—or in a company or any other organization—starts to truly think and act like an owner, the results are astounding.
This concept isn't entirely new to me—I had read about it before in Ownership Thinking and Extreme Ownership—but I found the particular formulation in this book helpful. I'm going to try to tell my own colleagues "it's your ship" more often, and encouraging them to make decisions and take responsibility for them.
2. Pick up the mic
When Captain Abrashoff first joined the USS Benfold, crew morale was very low. He realized that one of the reasons for this was that the crew felt no sense of purpose: “No one had ever thought to give them a compelling vision of their work, a good reason to believe it was important.”
The solution: define the mission and vision, communicate them clearly, and help each person connect their work to that mission and vision. One of the ways he did this was by "picking up the mic"—literally, the PA system in the ship—and talking to the crew on a very regular basis. It sounds simple, but repeating this sort of message is essential. A CEO at one of my previous companies once told me that, as a leader, the point where you've repeated a message so many times that you're completely sick of it, is just when everyone else has started to hear it for the first time.
3. Build people up
I've always had a stereotype in my mind of the military commander who likes to "tear you a new one." Mistakes are costly, so any time you screw up, you get chewed out.
One thing that stood out to me about Captain Abrashoff is that he took the opposite approach, spending most of his energy on building his crew up, rather than tearing them down. Some examples:
- When it was a sailor's birthday, he would write a card to that sailor's family, praising the sailor and his accomplishments. The family would inevitably call that sailor to tell them how proud they were. What a beautiful idea!
- Officers knew they could drop by Captain Abrashoff's office any time and ask him to praise one of their sailors for specific accomplishments. The Captain would then drop by and have a face to face conversation with the sailor, sharing his sincere gratitude. These conversations cost nothing, were enjoyable for the Captain and the sailor, and the impact on morale was massive. The more he praised his crew, the harder they worked, and the more there was to praise.
- Captain Abrashoff awarded something like ~10x as many medals per year as his official quota. I always worried this sort of thing might dilute the value of a medal, but based on Captain Abrashoff's results, it seems like there are very few drawbacks, and it's a huge boost to morale.
4. Have fun
I was also struck by Captain Abrashoff's focus on allowing sailors to have fun; this is not obvious on something like a military ship! A few examples:
- Captain Abrashoff went out of his way to ensure the ship had good food on a regular basis, and special meals (e.g., lobsters, steak, etc) on special occasions. It may seem like a small thing, but good food has a strong impact on morale, and sharing meals together is one of the best ways to build camaraderie.
- He allowed sailors to propose ways to have more fun: e.g., projecting movies onto a huge sail; doing karaoke on the ship's powerful speakers; doing light shows during refueling; relaxing on the deck to watch sunsets while listening to music. These items cost very little, but can be a huge boost to morale.
- He also allowed sailors to take friends and family on board to show off the ship. There's a special magic that happens when you can take pride in your work and show it off to others.
I think part of the problem is the book tells you what you need to do, but not how to do it. As it turns out, the "what" is fairly obvious, but the "how" is what's tricky. As an illustration of this, consider the chapters in the book. Each chapter captures one lesson: e.g., Ch 2 is "Lead by Example," Ch 5 is "Create a Climate of Trust," and Ch 7 is "Take Calculated Risks." These are all good ideas, but in some sense, these are all obvious. I would guess most people know that creating a climate of trust or taking calculated risks is a good idea; what most people don't know is how to actually accomplish that.
As a result, after finishing the book, I walked away with only a handful of new insights, mostly from chapters that had concrete examples or techniques I could apply in my own life:
1. Ownership
"It's your ship" isn't just the title of the book, but a refrain that Captain Abrashoff told to every member of his crew. That is, instead of having everyone check every little decision with him, Captain Abrashoff would routinely say, "it's your ship, you decide, and take responsibility for what happens." When everyone on a navy ship—or in a company or any other organization—starts to truly think and act like an owner, the results are astounding.
This concept isn't entirely new to me—I had read about it before in Ownership Thinking and Extreme Ownership—but I found the particular formulation in this book helpful. I'm going to try to tell my own colleagues "it's your ship" more often, and encouraging them to make decisions and take responsibility for them.
2. Pick up the mic
When Captain Abrashoff first joined the USS Benfold, crew morale was very low. He realized that one of the reasons for this was that the crew felt no sense of purpose: “No one had ever thought to give them a compelling vision of their work, a good reason to believe it was important.”
The solution: define the mission and vision, communicate them clearly, and help each person connect their work to that mission and vision. One of the ways he did this was by "picking up the mic"—literally, the PA system in the ship—and talking to the crew on a very regular basis. It sounds simple, but repeating this sort of message is essential. A CEO at one of my previous companies once told me that, as a leader, the point where you've repeated a message so many times that you're completely sick of it, is just when everyone else has started to hear it for the first time.
3. Build people up
I've always had a stereotype in my mind of the military commander who likes to "tear you a new one." Mistakes are costly, so any time you screw up, you get chewed out.
One thing that stood out to me about Captain Abrashoff is that he took the opposite approach, spending most of his energy on building his crew up, rather than tearing them down. Some examples:
- When it was a sailor's birthday, he would write a card to that sailor's family, praising the sailor and his accomplishments. The family would inevitably call that sailor to tell them how proud they were. What a beautiful idea!
- Officers knew they could drop by Captain Abrashoff's office any time and ask him to praise one of their sailors for specific accomplishments. The Captain would then drop by and have a face to face conversation with the sailor, sharing his sincere gratitude. These conversations cost nothing, were enjoyable for the Captain and the sailor, and the impact on morale was massive. The more he praised his crew, the harder they worked, and the more there was to praise.
- Captain Abrashoff awarded something like ~10x as many medals per year as his official quota. I always worried this sort of thing might dilute the value of a medal, but based on Captain Abrashoff's results, it seems like there are very few drawbacks, and it's a huge boost to morale.
4. Have fun
I was also struck by Captain Abrashoff's focus on allowing sailors to have fun; this is not obvious on something like a military ship! A few examples:
- Captain Abrashoff went out of his way to ensure the ship had good food on a regular basis, and special meals (e.g., lobsters, steak, etc) on special occasions. It may seem like a small thing, but good food has a strong impact on morale, and sharing meals together is one of the best ways to build camaraderie.
- He allowed sailors to propose ways to have more fun: e.g., projecting movies onto a huge sail; doing karaoke on the ship's powerful speakers; doing light shows during refueling; relaxing on the deck to watch sunsets while listening to music. These items cost very little, but can be a huge boost to morale.
- He also allowed sailors to take friends and family on board to show off the ship. There's a special magic that happens when you can take pride in your work and show it off to others.
July 6, 2024
Dignity and respect, two of the most frequent words in this book, and also an approach to sailors that helped Captain Abrashoff get USS Benfold among the best in the fleet. In addition, dozens of well-integrated memories that support efficiency of his leadership techniques. Inspirational and readable!
February 19, 2017
Notes
Lead By Example:
Real leadership must be done by example, not precept. Whenever I could not get the
results I wanted, I swallowed my temper and turned inward to see if I was part of the
problem. I asked myself three questions:
1. Did I clearly articulate the goals?
2. Did I give people enough time and resources to accomplish the task?
3. Did I give them enough training?
I discovered that 90 percent of the time, I was at least as much a part of the problem as
my people were.
Never forget your effect on people. Leaders need to understand how profoundly they
affect people, how their optimism and pessimism are equally infectious, how directly
they set the tone and spirit of everyone around them. Show me an enthusiastic leader,
and I will show you an enthusiastic workforce. And vice versa: If the leader has a bad
day, the whole organization has a bad day.
Never fail the Washington Post test. I was always careful never to take any ethical
shortcuts. My self-test was simple, and it allowed me to decide whether to go or stop in
terms of obvious consequences. I just asked myself this: If what I’m about to do
appeared on the front page of the Washington Post tomorrow, would I be proud or
embarrassed? If I knew I would be embarrassed, I would not do it. If I’d be proud, I
knew I was generally on the right track.
Getting somewhere is important. How you get there is equally important. Do the right
thing. Forget petty politics, don’t worry about whether you’re going to upset anyone or
ruffle anyone’s feathers; if it is the right thing to do, figure out a way to get past the egos,
a way to get around the bureaucratic infighting, and then do it.
Listen Aggressively:
See the ship through the crew’s eyes. Find round people for round holes. Give me
performance over seniority any day of the week. Use the power of word magic. If
leaders back their words with action, if they practice what they preach, their words create
a self-fulfilling prophecy. Call it “word magic.” I wanted my people to believe that the
USS Benfold was “the best ship in the Navy.” I wanted my people to believe in
themselves. Sure, it was corny. But it worked, because confidence is infectious. If we
weren’t actually the best just yet, we were certainly on our way there.
Communicate Purpose and Meaning:
The whole secret of leading a ship or managing a company is to articulate a common goal
that inspires a diverse group of people to work hard together. We must give our
employees a compelling vision of their work, a good reason to believe it was important.
Make your crew think “we can do anything.” Our whole ship became a medium,
sending a message of achievement and can-do optimism to the entire fleet. Like any
other workforce, mine appreciated hearing from top management. Change frightens
workers, and their fears thrive in silence. The antidote is obvious: Keep talking. Tell
everyone personally what’s in store for him or her – new goals, new work descriptions,
new organizational structure, and yes, job losses, if that’s the case. Explain why the
company is making the changes. People can absorb anything if they are not deceived or
treated arrogantly. I found that the more people knew what the goals were, the better
buy-in I got – and the better results we achieved together.
Open up the clogged channels. I focused on creating communication that actually
conveyed information. There is a direct relationship between how much the crew knew
about a plan and how well they carried it out.
After creating a great brand, defend it. Freedom creates discipline. When people
saw me opening myself to criticism, they opened themselves up. That’s how we made
dramatic improvements. When people feel they own an organization, they perform with
greater care and devotion. They want to do things right the first time, and they don’t
have accidents by taking shortcuts for the sake of expedience. I am absolutely convinced
that with good leadership, freedom does not weaken discipline – it strengthens it. Free
people have a powerful incentive not to screw up.
Look for Results, not Salutes
Take Calculated Risks
Lead By Example:
Real leadership must be done by example, not precept. Whenever I could not get the
results I wanted, I swallowed my temper and turned inward to see if I was part of the
problem. I asked myself three questions:
1. Did I clearly articulate the goals?
2. Did I give people enough time and resources to accomplish the task?
3. Did I give them enough training?
I discovered that 90 percent of the time, I was at least as much a part of the problem as
my people were.
Never forget your effect on people. Leaders need to understand how profoundly they
affect people, how their optimism and pessimism are equally infectious, how directly
they set the tone and spirit of everyone around them. Show me an enthusiastic leader,
and I will show you an enthusiastic workforce. And vice versa: If the leader has a bad
day, the whole organization has a bad day.
Never fail the Washington Post test. I was always careful never to take any ethical
shortcuts. My self-test was simple, and it allowed me to decide whether to go or stop in
terms of obvious consequences. I just asked myself this: If what I’m about to do
appeared on the front page of the Washington Post tomorrow, would I be proud or
embarrassed? If I knew I would be embarrassed, I would not do it. If I’d be proud, I
knew I was generally on the right track.
Getting somewhere is important. How you get there is equally important. Do the right
thing. Forget petty politics, don’t worry about whether you’re going to upset anyone or
ruffle anyone’s feathers; if it is the right thing to do, figure out a way to get past the egos,
a way to get around the bureaucratic infighting, and then do it.
Listen Aggressively:
See the ship through the crew’s eyes. Find round people for round holes. Give me
performance over seniority any day of the week. Use the power of word magic. If
leaders back their words with action, if they practice what they preach, their words create
a self-fulfilling prophecy. Call it “word magic.” I wanted my people to believe that the
USS Benfold was “the best ship in the Navy.” I wanted my people to believe in
themselves. Sure, it was corny. But it worked, because confidence is infectious. If we
weren’t actually the best just yet, we were certainly on our way there.
Communicate Purpose and Meaning:
The whole secret of leading a ship or managing a company is to articulate a common goal
that inspires a diverse group of people to work hard together. We must give our
employees a compelling vision of their work, a good reason to believe it was important.
Make your crew think “we can do anything.” Our whole ship became a medium,
sending a message of achievement and can-do optimism to the entire fleet. Like any
other workforce, mine appreciated hearing from top management. Change frightens
workers, and their fears thrive in silence. The antidote is obvious: Keep talking. Tell
everyone personally what’s in store for him or her – new goals, new work descriptions,
new organizational structure, and yes, job losses, if that’s the case. Explain why the
company is making the changes. People can absorb anything if they are not deceived or
treated arrogantly. I found that the more people knew what the goals were, the better
buy-in I got – and the better results we achieved together.
Open up the clogged channels. I focused on creating communication that actually
conveyed information. There is a direct relationship between how much the crew knew
about a plan and how well they carried it out.
After creating a great brand, defend it. Freedom creates discipline. When people
saw me opening myself to criticism, they opened themselves up. That’s how we made
dramatic improvements. When people feel they own an organization, they perform with
greater care and devotion. They want to do things right the first time, and they don’t
have accidents by taking shortcuts for the sake of expedience. I am absolutely convinced
that with good leadership, freedom does not weaken discipline – it strengthens it. Free
people have a powerful incentive not to screw up.
Look for Results, not Salutes
Take Calculated Risks
March 25, 2018
This ends up being a compare and contrast because having read Turn the Ship Around reading this book initially felt very similar and then eventually drifted away. I read Turn the Ship Around before It's Your Ship and so this review is coloured by that fact.
So the book takes you through the author's leadership journey. Early on the book focuses on the leaders that the author took lessons from. The good and the bad. After that the book discusses specific tactics the author used to drive good performance out of the ship and finishes with some thoughts about the author's experience.
Compared to Turn the Ship Around this book feels a lot more inwardly focussed. The approaches taken by the two leaders are both rooted in understanding the psychology of their crews. However the It's Your Ship approach felt much more top-down than bottom-up. Having said that there is clearly value in both approaches and while I wouldn't read the books consecutively I would still read both of them.
Overall this is an enjoyable and thought-provoking book about leadership.
So the book takes you through the author's leadership journey. Early on the book focuses on the leaders that the author took lessons from. The good and the bad. After that the book discusses specific tactics the author used to drive good performance out of the ship and finishes with some thoughts about the author's experience.
Compared to Turn the Ship Around this book feels a lot more inwardly focussed. The approaches taken by the two leaders are both rooted in understanding the psychology of their crews. However the It's Your Ship approach felt much more top-down than bottom-up. Having said that there is clearly value in both approaches and while I wouldn't read the books consecutively I would still read both of them.
Overall this is an enjoyable and thought-provoking book about leadership.
February 1, 2025
An easy to read book on leadership. No new principles but good reminders of what you already know - the people doing the job are the experts, treat people with respect, expect that people want to do their best, and have a little fun along the way.
February 4, 2022
Makes me wish if joined the NAVY under his command.
June 19, 2021
Published almost 20 years ago now, "It's Your Ship" is a modern management classic that is widely read and recommended not just in the military but in Corporate America as well. When CMDR Abrashoff took command of the USS Benfold, the ship was the worst in the US Navy Pacific Fleet, but when he ended his command tour 2 years later, the ship was the best in the Pacific Fleet. Abrashoff explains how he did it in this book. Care for his sailors, openness to new ideas, a willingness to take risks and an emphasis of effectiveness over tradition had completely transformed his ship and made their tour on the Benfold a great experience for his sailors. The lessons for all sorts of organizations are clear. Bad leadership begets bad performance, and unhappy employees will not lift an organization to success. Because of this, "It's Your Ship" is must reading for leaders, especially senior leaders, in all sorts of organization.
There are only two criticisms that I have of this book. The first is that many of the lessons learned in this book could have been summed with one word; humility. Leaders with humility listen to their subordinates, care for their wellbeing and do not abuse their authority. Interestingly, the word humility is hardly ever used in this book. This is one of my pet peeves with modern leadership books. In order to be socially acceptable, these books present ancient wisdom without referring to the source of this wisdom. It is almost as though modern leadership writers are afraid to admit that they adhere to value ethics, classical philosophy or (gasp), religious principles. Unfortunately this book falls into that category.
Another criticism that I have of the book is the naive vision of the military that it presents. Granted that this is a short book, and granted that its intended audience is non-military leaders, but it seems like Abrashoff panders to popular impressions of military leaders and unthinking, tradition-bound, ego driven tyrants who are only interested in advancing their careers. As a retired military officer myself, I can testify that these types of leaders exist in the military, and there are far too many of them. But I would estimate that most military leaders today, and especially senior leaders, are not in this mold. The principles advanced by Abrashoff are in wide application today, although not as wide as they should be. And perhaps it's a testimony to the effectiveness of "It's Your Ship" that this book may have transformed many otherwise narcissistic military leaders into collaborative and effective commanders.
Overall I highly recommend "It's Your Ship" to all leaders both in the military and in civilian life.
There are only two criticisms that I have of this book. The first is that many of the lessons learned in this book could have been summed with one word; humility. Leaders with humility listen to their subordinates, care for their wellbeing and do not abuse their authority. Interestingly, the word humility is hardly ever used in this book. This is one of my pet peeves with modern leadership books. In order to be socially acceptable, these books present ancient wisdom without referring to the source of this wisdom. It is almost as though modern leadership writers are afraid to admit that they adhere to value ethics, classical philosophy or (gasp), religious principles. Unfortunately this book falls into that category.
Another criticism that I have of the book is the naive vision of the military that it presents. Granted that this is a short book, and granted that its intended audience is non-military leaders, but it seems like Abrashoff panders to popular impressions of military leaders and unthinking, tradition-bound, ego driven tyrants who are only interested in advancing their careers. As a retired military officer myself, I can testify that these types of leaders exist in the military, and there are far too many of them. But I would estimate that most military leaders today, and especially senior leaders, are not in this mold. The principles advanced by Abrashoff are in wide application today, although not as wide as they should be. And perhaps it's a testimony to the effectiveness of "It's Your Ship" that this book may have transformed many otherwise narcissistic military leaders into collaborative and effective commanders.
Overall I highly recommend "It's Your Ship" to all leaders both in the military and in civilian life.
September 16, 2025
En It’s Your Ship, el Capitán D. Michael Abrashoff narra cómo transformó al USS Benfold, uno de los barcos menos eficientes de la Marina de EE.UU., en uno de los más destacados. Su enfoque de liderazgo, centrado en las personas, rompe con los modelos autoritarios tradicionales y pone énfasis en la confianza, el respeto y el empoderamiento del equipo.
Aunque el libro ofrece principios útiles y aplicables a diversas organizaciones, su tono marcadamente autoreferencial puede resultar excesivo y agotador. Las ideas centrales de la lectura son las siguientes: 1. Liderar con el ejemplo y desde el servicio. Abrashoff promueve un liderazgo basado en la humildad, la escucha activa y el servicio. 2. Empoderar al equipo. Una de sus decisiones más efectivas fue delegar poder real a su tripulación, permitiendo que tomaran decisiones, resolvieran problemas y propusieran mejoras. 3. Escuchar activamente. El capitán se propuso conocer a cada miembro de su tripulación, entendiendo sus motivaciones, inquietudes y sugerencias. 4. Cultura de excelencia y propósito. Abrashoff ayudó a su equipo a conectar su labor diaria con una misión mayor. Esta orientación generó un mayor compromiso y sentido de propósito. 5. Asumir responsabilidad personal. El título del libro resume uno de sus mensajes clave: el líder debe asumir la responsabilidad total por el desempeño del equipo. No se trata de culpar a otros, sino de reconocer que el estilo de liderazgo impacta directamente en los resultados. Esta visión implica liderar con integridad, reconocer errores y buscar siempre la mejora continua.
Aunque el libro presenta principios valiosos, una observación importante es el estilo altamente autoreferencial del autor. Abrashoff dedica gran parte del texto a relatar sus propios logros, lo cual puede resultar repetitivo y dar una sensación de protagonismo individual. Para lectores que valoran el liderazgo compartido y los procesos colaborativos, esta narrativa centrada en el "yo" puede parecer contradictoria con el mismo enfoque que el autor intenta promover. Hubiera sido enriquecedor incluir más testimonios del equipo o ejemplos de liderazgo colectivo.
It’s Your Ship es una obra práctica que ofrece lecciones aplicables sobre cómo liderar con empatía, visión y responsabilidad. De la lectura me quedo con mucho por hacer y transmitir a mi equipo…. Buen libro recomendado por David Chavero (@dadoamarillo).
.
.
.
#itsyourship #michaelabrashoff #goodreads #goodreadschallenge #goodreadschallenge2025 #usnavy #management #hachettebookgroup #soynaval #ussbenfold
Aunque el libro ofrece principios útiles y aplicables a diversas organizaciones, su tono marcadamente autoreferencial puede resultar excesivo y agotador. Las ideas centrales de la lectura son las siguientes: 1. Liderar con el ejemplo y desde el servicio. Abrashoff promueve un liderazgo basado en la humildad, la escucha activa y el servicio. 2. Empoderar al equipo. Una de sus decisiones más efectivas fue delegar poder real a su tripulación, permitiendo que tomaran decisiones, resolvieran problemas y propusieran mejoras. 3. Escuchar activamente. El capitán se propuso conocer a cada miembro de su tripulación, entendiendo sus motivaciones, inquietudes y sugerencias. 4. Cultura de excelencia y propósito. Abrashoff ayudó a su equipo a conectar su labor diaria con una misión mayor. Esta orientación generó un mayor compromiso y sentido de propósito. 5. Asumir responsabilidad personal. El título del libro resume uno de sus mensajes clave: el líder debe asumir la responsabilidad total por el desempeño del equipo. No se trata de culpar a otros, sino de reconocer que el estilo de liderazgo impacta directamente en los resultados. Esta visión implica liderar con integridad, reconocer errores y buscar siempre la mejora continua.
Aunque el libro presenta principios valiosos, una observación importante es el estilo altamente autoreferencial del autor. Abrashoff dedica gran parte del texto a relatar sus propios logros, lo cual puede resultar repetitivo y dar una sensación de protagonismo individual. Para lectores que valoran el liderazgo compartido y los procesos colaborativos, esta narrativa centrada en el "yo" puede parecer contradictoria con el mismo enfoque que el autor intenta promover. Hubiera sido enriquecedor incluir más testimonios del equipo o ejemplos de liderazgo colectivo.
It’s Your Ship es una obra práctica que ofrece lecciones aplicables sobre cómo liderar con empatía, visión y responsabilidad. De la lectura me quedo con mucho por hacer y transmitir a mi equipo…. Buen libro recomendado por David Chavero (@dadoamarillo).
.
.
.
#itsyourship #michaelabrashoff #goodreads #goodreadschallenge #goodreadschallenge2025 #usnavy #management #hachettebookgroup #soynaval #ussbenfold
August 23, 2021
Bureaucracy is one of the most inhibiting elements when it comes to progress and positive culture. The US Navy is no different. Oftentimes an analogy is used that when you're trying to change culture, a speedboat is easier to change course than an aircraft carrier. In the case of Captain D. Michael Abrashoff, he turns that analogy on it's head!
Captain Abrashoff was appointed commander of the USS Benfold in 1997, at the time it was the lowest performing ship in the Navy. Captain Abrashoff made the decision to turn that around. How did he do it? By being a people-developer, not an order-giver, by being a talent cultivator rather than an authoritarian boss. In other words, he focused on developing his people by trusting them and empowering them.
This isn't a book where you read about a guy who is high on himself without anything to back it up. The opposite is true, in fact. During his time on the USS Benfold, Capt Abrashoff turned it into the "best damn ship in the Navy." And that can be backed up not just by opinions of his subordinates and supervisors, but by the measurable numbers and metrics that they ship and crew consistently put up on the board.
Read this book to learn HOW he did it and you will come away inspired to take action along with an increased faith in the US Navy and it's progressive and professional practices.
Captain Abrashoff was appointed commander of the USS Benfold in 1997, at the time it was the lowest performing ship in the Navy. Captain Abrashoff made the decision to turn that around. How did he do it? By being a people-developer, not an order-giver, by being a talent cultivator rather than an authoritarian boss. In other words, he focused on developing his people by trusting them and empowering them.
This isn't a book where you read about a guy who is high on himself without anything to back it up. The opposite is true, in fact. During his time on the USS Benfold, Capt Abrashoff turned it into the "best damn ship in the Navy." And that can be backed up not just by opinions of his subordinates and supervisors, but by the measurable numbers and metrics that they ship and crew consistently put up on the board.
Read this book to learn HOW he did it and you will come away inspired to take action along with an increased faith in the US Navy and it's progressive and professional practices.
December 12, 2019
A very good take on leadership and an easy read for anyone who is super busy.
CDR Abrashoff had many basic leadership points that will allow anyone to further develop their own leadership attributes and beliefs. The points definitely allowed me to add to my leadership toolbox to be used in my role at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy as the Regimental Executive Officer and also in my future career as a Surface Warfare Officer (the same career path of CDR Abrashoff). Fun fact: I was able to work on the ship that CDR Abrashoff based the book off of and also the ship that he was the Executive Officer of! From my experience, his impact still lives on on those vessels.
CDR Abrashoff had many basic leadership points that will allow anyone to further develop their own leadership attributes and beliefs. The points definitely allowed me to add to my leadership toolbox to be used in my role at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy as the Regimental Executive Officer and also in my future career as a Surface Warfare Officer (the same career path of CDR Abrashoff). Fun fact: I was able to work on the ship that CDR Abrashoff based the book off of and also the ship that he was the Executive Officer of! From my experience, his impact still lives on on those vessels.
February 10, 2020
This was a good book on empowering your employees, not focusing on your personal success, and improving your organization as a whole. Many leaders need credit and that holds them back from being great. This book explains that well and provides examples. If you micromanage, been told you micromanage, or are too much involved in the day to day of your organization, you need to read this book for a different perspective. Unfortunately, I've frequently worked with micromangers whether in the military, police, or in my current administrative position. It's detrimental to the organization and limits others potential. Short and easy read.
July 9, 2024
Absolutely not the management book for me. This guy is full of himself and his “out of the box” thinking. I can see a few of the management ideas my company has implemented: seeing people as people, wanting and giving feedback, working as a team. But the bad of this book drastically outweighed any insights I gained. I left angry about how much money the military wastes and frustrated with how respect for subordinates was a novel concept for this guy. Would not recommend. Find another management book
February 3, 2020
“Empower your people, and at the same time give them guidelines within which they are allowed to roam.”
Abrashoff’s commandments:
Take command
Lead by example
Listen aggressively
Communicate purpose and meaning
Create a climate of trust
Look for results, not salutes
Take calculated risks
Go beyond standard procedure
Build up your people
Generate unity
Improve your people’s quality of life
Solid examples and fun stories. Little bit boastful, but don’t discount the advice for that.
Abrashoff’s commandments:
Take command
Lead by example
Listen aggressively
Communicate purpose and meaning
Create a climate of trust
Look for results, not salutes
Take calculated risks
Go beyond standard procedure
Build up your people
Generate unity
Improve your people’s quality of life
Solid examples and fun stories. Little bit boastful, but don’t discount the advice for that.
May 1, 2021
This book is about people centered leadership, and how an organization thrives when management empower their workers to do their best under appropriate circumstances. I really enjoyed reading the stories about how Abrashoff transformed his ship from a low performer to a top performer in the Navy. I wish he had included more stories about when things went wrong, because there is a lot to be learned from mistakes. But I learned a lot from the book and was a fun read.
August 6, 2024
This is a well written leadership book. I was given this book by one of my first commanding officers as a professional development assignment. Many of the tenants and principals from this book helped form my own leadership style and helped me figure out who I wanted to be as a leader.
It's a good read for anyone.
It's a good read for anyone.
December 6, 2017
The author of this book becomes captain of a troubled ship and turns it into a high performer by his management techniques. There shouldn't be any real surprises for managers who are doing a good job. The problem is so many are doing a pathetic job. Unfortunately, I suspect the second category would not take these lessons to heart.
July 11, 2019
Advices in this book might seem outdated for most work places, they are still progressive and relevant to mine. If I must stay at where I am now, it’s not a bad idea to implement few of these tips into my work life. This is the first book on leadership written in a language that I both identify with and can appreciate. It gives me a lot to think about regarding what it means to be a good manager, the importance of good leadership, and ultimately if I can see myself fulfilling such a role.
I would recommend this book to anyone in my outfit who thinks he/she is a good leader right now. Chances are you are not, and you can benefit from reading this book.
I would recommend this book to anyone in my outfit who thinks he/she is a good leader right now. Chances are you are not, and you can benefit from reading this book.
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