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Defense Secretary William Perry, the finest leader I’ve ever known.
I offer them as a practical guide to any leader in any business or organization. Like the Navy, the business community has to figure out how to help people grow.
when people leave their companies, 65 percent of them are actually leaving their managers.
What all leaders have in common is the challenge of getting the most out of our crew, which depends on three variables: the leader’s needs, the organization’s atmosphere, and the crew’s potential competence.
real leadership is about understanding yourself first,
Leaders must free their subordinates to fulfill their talents to the utmost.
we will achieve neither by ordering people to perform as we wish. Even if doing so produces short-term benefits, the consequences can prove devastating.
chapter is given to each one: 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’s confidence; generate unity; and improve everyone’s quality of life as much as possible.
the art of leadership lies in simple things—commonsense actions that ensure high morale and increase the odds of winning.
found that the more control I gave up, the more command I got.
Captains need to see the ship from the crew’s perspective.
worked hard at convincing my crew that I did want the rules to be questioned and challenged, and that “they” is “us.” One of the ways I demonstrated my commitment was to question and challenge rules to my bosses.
a ship that met all operational commitments and did so under budget, while achieving high morale and a high retention rate. I thought that if I could deliver these things, my boss will leave me alone.
took prudent, calculated risks, the kind I thought my boss would want me to take. Never once did I do anything to promote myself, just the organization.
Organizations should reward risk-takers, even if they fall short once in a while. Let them know that promotions and glory go to innovators and pioneers, not to stand-patters who fear controversy and avoid trying
decided that on just about everything I did, my standard should be simply whether or not it felt right. You can never go wrong if you do “the right thing.”
If it feels right, smells right, tastes right, it’s almost surely the right thing—and you will be on the right track. If that doesn’t sound very profound or sophisticated, in the Navy, in business, and in life, it really is as simple as that.
being likable is not high among a ship captain’s job requirements. What is essential is to be respected, trusted, and effective.
a challenge for leaders in the twenty-first century is attracting and retaining not just employees, but the best employees—and more important, how to motivate them so that they work with passion, energy, and enthusiasm.
The timeless challenge in the real world is to help less-talented people transcend their limitations.
The key to being a successful skipper is to see the ship through the eyes of the crew.
But instead of constantly scrutinizing the members of my crew with the presumption that they would screw up, I assumed that they wanted to do well and be the best.
I began with the idea that there is always a better way to do things,
My second assumption was that the secret to lasting change is to implement processes that people will enjoy carrying out.
I cared more about performance and about them than about my next promotion. That’s another thing you need to learn about your people: They are more perceptive than you give them credit for, and they always know the score—even when you don’t want them to.
taught me not to give up on people until I have exhausted every opportunity to train them and help them grow.
As in business, no one person can stay on top of it all. That’s why you need to get more out of your people and challenge them to step up to the plate. What’s needed now is a dramatic new way of inspiring people to excel while things are happening at lightning speed.
All of Benfold’s career sailors reenlisted for an additional tour. If we had to replace them, we would spend about $100,000 per new recruit for her or his training. And the considerable dollar savings are only the beginning. The ultimate benefit—retaining highly skilled employees—is incalculable.
Empowering means defining the parameters in which people are allowed to operate, and then setting them free.
Whenever the consequences of a decision had the potential to kill or injure someone, waste tax-payers’ money, or damage the ship, I had to be consulted. Short
Even if the decisions were wrong, I would stand by them.
company of collaborators who were flourishing in a spirit of relaxed discipline, creativity, humor, and pride.
my job was to create the climate that enabled people to unleash their potential.
Given the right environment, there are few limits to what people can achieve.
difference between being an individual contributor and being the leader of the team, who has to see the important, long-range issues and delegate power.
The difference between thinking as a top performer and thinking like your boss is the difference between individual contribution and real leadership. Some people never make this jump; they keep doing what made them successful, which in a leadership role usually means micromanaging.
Once he approved the schedule that we proposed, he expected to stick to it, down to the minute. Meetings started on time and ended on time,
If your bosses see you lifting burdens off their shoulders, and they find out they can trust you, they stay out of your face. And that gives you the freedom you need to operate independently and improve
A leader will never accomplish what he or she wants by ordering it done. Real leadership must be done by example, not precept.
You train your crew how to operate through every decision you make and every action you take.
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?
You never know all the things you should know. 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.
As a manager, the one signal you need to steadily send to your people is how important they are to you. In fact, nothing is more important to you. Realize your influence, and use it wisely. Be there for your people. Find out who they are. Recognize the effects you have on them and how you can make them grow taller.
It helps when your motives are pure and you make sure they come across that way.
It is well-known that every leader sets the tone for his or her organization. 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.
The lesson to be learned, though, is that everybody has a dark side, and the more you understand it, the better you can manage it.
NO ONE FOLLOWS A LEADER WHO LIES.
NEVER FAIL THE WASHINGTON POST TEST.
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.
