It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy

by D. Michael Abrashoff

We continue to invest in the latest technologies and systems, but, as we all know, technology is nothing but a facilitator. The people operating the equipment are who give us the fighting edge, and we seem to have lost our way when it comes to helping them grow.

Show me an organization in which employees take ownership, and I will show you one that beats its competitors.

I began with the idea that there is always a better way to do things, and that, contrary to tradition, the crew’s insights might be more profound than even the captain’s.

Empowering means defining the parameters in which people are allowed to operate, and then setting them free.

As I saw it, 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.

The difference between thinking as a top performer and thinking like your boss is the difference between individual contribution and real leadership.

While you’re still an individual contributor, learn to think like your boss, so when the day comes to be a leader, you’re ready to step right in with your game plan in hand.

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 your ship.

“Why do we have to do it that way? Is there a better way?”

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.

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.

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.

What did they like most? Least? What would they change if they could?

The second important lesson he taught me was about the power of language to affect morale. If leaders back their words with action, if they practice what they preach, their words create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Call it “word magic.”

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.

Some leaders feel that by keeping people in the dark, they maintain a measure of control. 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. I found that the more people knew what the goals were, the better buy-in I got—and the better results we achieved together.

no matter how fantastic your message is, if no one is receiving it, you aren’t communicating. You must have mastery of all means of communication, along with the willingness to use them—otherwise, you’re just talking to yourself.

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.

One of the first things I did was to tell the four heads that their futures in the Navy depended on the overall success of Benfold.

AEGIS is the name of the missile fire control system on ships such as Benfold. In Greek mythology, Aegis was the shield made by Zeus from the head of the snake-headed Medusa. Today, it means the “shield of the fleet.”

you never go wrong when you do the right thing.

When it comes to purging outdated regulations, bureaucracies are sclerotic. In today’s fast-paced world, rules should be treated as guidelines, not as immutable laws, unless they truly are critical. If the rules weren’t critical, I believed that my boss would want me to use my best judgment and do the right thing, regardless of the directive, because there are gray areas.

In the business community today, “empowerment” seems to be a four-letter word, but that’s because it is misunderstood to mean letting your people do whatever they want. Empower your people, and at the same time give them guidelines within which they are allowed to roam.

Show me someone who has never made a mistake, and I will show you someone who is not doing anything to improve your organization.

BET ON THE PEOPLE WHO THINK FOR THEMSELVES.

If all you give are orders, then all you will get are order-takers.

He took full responsibility for his actions. Personal accountability is a declining character trait in the United States today, so

IF A RULE DOES MAKE SENSE, BREAK IT CAREFULLY.

Recall how you feel when your own boss tells you, “Good job.” Do your people (and yourself) a favor. Say it in person, if you can. Press the flesh. Open yourself. Coldness congeals. Warmth heals. Little things make big successes.

I greeted each the same way: “Welcome… I appreciate having you on our ship.”

That’s the key to being a good leader: ongoing counseling and consistent honesty.

FORGET DIVERSITY. TRAIN FOR UNITY.

“We must indeed all hang together, or, assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”

a team of highly talented individuals that played as one.

All too often, our words say one thing and our actions quite another.

There is no such thing as a truly level playing field, I told them, but we were going to work damn hard to make ours as fair as possible. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses; no one is perfect, including the commanding officer. I would applaud their strengths and help them overcome their weaknesses, but above all, I wanted them to treat one another with dignity and respect. And though we all want to win at whatever we do, the important point was how we won—whether we did it in a way that made us proud or ashamed, bigger or smaller. In short, how we got there was just as important as getting there.

When I interviewed my sailors, I asked them not only how we could improve the ship’s performance, but also how we could have fun at work. The responses were amazing. FUN WITH YOUR FRIENDS MAKES A HAPPY SHIP.

my commandments were no less heartfelt. They were simply the chapter headings of this book: 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; and improve your people’s quality of life.

Finally, let’s all stipulate the winning leader’s first principle: Optimism rules. And the corollary: Opportunities never cease. The bottom line: It’s your ship. Make it the best.

Once an issue becomes important to senior management, it becomes important down the chain of command. The results can be astonishing—newly loyal workers, better products, higher sales, and healthy profits. All because leaders do what they are paid to do—lead. In a nutshell, leaders are supposed to solve awful problems and inspire wonderful work. Ego-trippers need not apply.