Contents:
Rather, after the introductory revelation of this heartfelt failure, we hear no more of it. 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!
Aug 22, Scott rated it it was ok Shelves: Find another management book. I think that the author is a little bit full of himself and his accomplishments. 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 Find another management book. 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 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 14, Brian S. 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. I heard this guy speak at the Naval Academy about 10 years ago when he got out. Now, mind you, he resigned at Good book if you are a civilian. 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. 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. Jan 23, Angelyn rated it it was amazing Shelves: 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. 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 wi There were some good ideas in this book. 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: You train your crew how to operate through every decision you make and every action you take. Free people have a powerful incentive not to screw up.
Aug 22, GoldGato rated it it was amazing Shelves: 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. Once a company starts growing, the obsession with offices and cubicle height overtakes the focus on results and customer satisfaction. A leader must present a common goal for all to strive for, otherwise everyone is only thinking about their own workload. Steve Jobs would have been fired here. The author rightly points out that everyone must push the envelope, outside the rigidity of SOPs.
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. Jun 07, Bob Wallner rated it really liked it Shelves: 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 Reading the reviews before listening to the audio book I thought It's Your Ship was going to be very arrogant and boastful I did enjoy this book and think captain did a good job showing how the skills he learned could be applied to business.
Feb 18, Patrick rated it it was amazing Shelves: 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: Did I clearly articulate the goals? Did I give people enough time and resources to accomplish the task? 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 Notes Lead By Example: 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.
Ships from and sold by www.farmersmarketmusic.com CAPTAIN D. MICHAEL ABRASHOFF is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, and was a military assistant to the former secretary of defense, the Honorable Dr. William J. Perry. Abrashoff left the Navy in and became the founder and. It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy Hardcover – May 22, 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.
Show me an enthusiastic leader, and I will show you an enthusiastic workforce. 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 I knew I would be embarrassed, I would not do it. Getting somewhere is important. How you get there is equally important. Do the right thing. 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. Sure, it was corny. But it worked, because confidence is infectious. 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. Like any other workforce, mine appreciated hearing from top management. Change frightens workers, and their fears thrive in silence. The antidote is obvious: 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. When people saw me opening myself to criticism, they opened themselves up. When people feel they own an organization, they perform with greater care and devotion. I am absolutely convinced that with good leadership, freedom does not weaken discipline — it strengthens it. Dec 21, Anchit rated it it was ok. 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: Some incident that happened it can connect to whatever theory you want. Hard work is good bla bla. This is not what I was looking for. I was hoping for some kind of internal struggle maybe in situations where we're not s I'm sorry and guilty for giving it 2 stars when everyone else seems to have rated it so highly.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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 perfo 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.
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. Dec 06, Rayrumtum rated it liked it Shelves: 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. Aug 05, Viljami Kuosmanen rated it really liked it. Mike's Benfold should be the golden standard for all business teams and organisations.
An extremely practical guide for anyone wanting to become a better leader. May 18, Ian rated it really liked it. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Good motivational book to give to your employees. This helps plant the seed for accountability and quality work.
A must read for management at all stages Some of the quotes I found interesting are below: Is there a better way? Lies and arrogance create an us-versus-them atmosphere that poisons productivity.
But that is a leader's folly and an organization's failure. Secrecy spawns isolation, not success. Knowledge is power, yes, but what leaders need is collective power, and that requires collective knowledge. After every major decision, event, or maneuver, those involved gathered around my chair on the bridge wing and critiqued it. But trust is a kind of jujitsu: A boss who does will not hear about future problems until they are out of hand. For example, a bureaucracy can slow down the implementation of a bad idea by giving the decision maker more time to reflect.
However, more often than not, bureaucracies create rules and then forget why they were needed in the first place, or fail to see that the reasons for them no longer exist. A universal trigger is money. Thus, when the day came, I didn't let the experienced officer do it. I wanted other people to start learning.
Those that don't, wither. I think business has to pick up some of the slack. It is good for morale, good for your reputation, and good for your soul. It's probably a winner. The challenge is finding incentives to motivate them to want to do so.
If you want to achieve anything in a large bureaucracy, get inside the bosses' heads. Anticipate what they want before they know they want it. Take on their problems; make them look so good that you become indispensable. When they can't get along without you, they will support nearly anything you seek to accomplish. It let us unleash people with talent and let them rise to levels that no one had expected.
Leaders must always watch out for them. Victory will go, as it did then, to the forces with the greatest horizontal leadership, the ones imbued with small-unit daring and initiative. Leadership is a calling. You have want to lead with all the caring and energy of Ernest Shackleton conquering Antarctica or Moses parting the Red Sea. Not being treated with respect or dignity 2. Being prevented from making an impact on the org 3. Not being listened to 4. Not being rewarded with more responsibility 5. Good book - great stories, I would have loved more instruction Overall great book.
Quick and easy read.
I felt it just need a bit more training teaching and how to. Jan 15, Devin Partlow rated it it was ok. Let me try to sum this book up for you: 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 sprink Let me try to sum this book up for you: 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. One of the best books I have read on management. The stories are great. Captain Abrashoff breaks his management techniques down into 11 simple techniques. His techniques have changed how the navy operates, by taking calculated risks or as I like to put it - it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission if you want to be a risk taker.
I admire how he treats his crew not as subordinates but truly believes that by building up people you build up your organization. He walks the walk and talks t One of the best books I have read on management. He walks the walk and talks the talk. That book is a great example of leadership. Doesn't matter if it's a Navy Vessel, all those ideas and lessons can be applied in civil companies. Apr 11, Brom Kim rated it it was amazing Shelves: This is an excellent business and management book for the post-Dot Com era, and a fun, light read packing a substantial heft in ideas.
While most of us don't lead anything like a guided missile destroyer, for any organization struggling with low morale, a jaded workforce, outdated command and control corporate culture, and operational problems, the parallels are vivid. If you enjoy learning how a damn smart leader works, this book is for you! Mar 15, Jennifer rated it really liked it Shelves: Interesting lessons and stories related to leadership. Engaging and uplifting examples of leadership and development of people. This was a good leadership book for me because it told lots of stories as it illustrates ideas.
Stories make more sense to me than maxims when learning concepts. Jun 19, Joshua Johnson rated it it was amazing. Really enjoyed the thinking out of the box ways of problem solving. Culture is very difficult to change without a majority on board. Sep 27, Cyril Danthi rated it really liked it. The author narrates examples of leadership where he turn around the worst ship to best ship and crew using 11 leadership techniques. What I feel unique is about the application of presence of mind and common-sense approach to the leadership system. Whether it is Armed Forces or the Organisations, all leaders face common challenge of getting the most out of the crews Employees.
Leadership lies in simple things — common-sense actions that ensure high morale and increase the odds of winning. Finding libraries that hold this item You may have already requested this item. Please select Ok if you would like to proceed with this request anyway. WorldCat is the world's largest library catalog, helping you find library materials online. Don't have an account? Your Web browser is not enabled for JavaScript.
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