Get Your Ship Together: How Great Leaders Inspire Ownership From The Keel Up Review

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(More customer reviews)If you read Commander Abrashoff's first book, save yourself some time -- skip this one. My own experience as a Navy officer made the Commander's first book uniquely appealing. If I had served under a commanding officer like him, I would still be in uniform.
Instead showcasing new leaders and new ideas, every chapter of the sequel informs us how the subject of the story brilliantly implemented the Commander's ideas - and giving us a new story or two about HIS ship to prove it. Instead of a cast of inspiring lead characters, the "Great Leaders" of the title are reduced to minor supporting roles.
While his first book gave a memorable presentation of management and leadership ideas, he didn't invent them. I have read the same principles in various forms in dozens of other books and articles over the years. Commander Abrashoff missed an opportunity to make waves with these tales, instead sailing back through the same waters that he covered before.

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Former U.S. Navy Commander Michael Abrashoff attracted worldwide media attention for his success in turning around a struggling ship, the USS Benfold—the subject of his acclaimed bestseller, It's Your Ship. Since then, he's been a fixture on the business lecture circuit, spreading an empowering message that any organization can be turned around with compassionate but firm leadership. He is now nearly as popular a speaker as Rudy Giuliani, Jack Welch, or Jim Collins. Abrashoff never claimed to have all the answers. He also knew that there were plenty of other creative leaders in the navy, army, air force, marine corps, and even the coast guard who could teach businesspeople how to motivate, inspire, and get great results under pressure. So he asked around, found some fascinating people in every branch of the U.S. military and the business world, and interviewed them about leadership and teambuilding. The result is Get Your Ship Together—a book that will be just as valuable as It's Your Ship. For example, Abrashoff introduces us to a working-class enlisted man who rose rapidly in the navy for his creative leadership under fire; an army platoon leader who fought in Afghanistan; the first woman to fly an Apache helicopter in combat; a former commander of the air force's elite Blue Angels; and many other unsung heroes. Abrashoff distills their stories into fresh lessons that can be applied in the business world, such as: • Make a contract with your people and honor it • Develop your subordinates better so you can buy back a little quality of life • Conduct the battle on your terms, not those of your adversary

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Watch Officer's Guide: A Handbook for All Deck Watch Officers - Fifteenth Edition Review

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(More customer reviews)"Watch Officer's Guide" is a goldmine of information for the newly commissioned naval officer, and will provide him/her with a safe passage through the rocks and shoals of a junior officer assigned to a ship for the first time, or one who is seeking qualification as on OOD. This book is also for the civilian who has a genuine interest in the ships, aircraft, practices and traditions of the United States Navy.

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This handbook addresses every aspect of a watchstander's duties at sea and in port. A classic reference of the profession since its initial publication in 1911, the guide is a compendium of information and wisdom contributed by hundreds of naval officers and mariners over the past eighty years. For watch officers beginning their training, the book provides an abundance of useful, up-to-date information. For experienced watch officers, it is handy both for general review and for use while actually standing watch. The revised edition offers much new material, including sessions on standing watch in the combat information center, training, and engineering, and a quick-reference guide filled with the shiphandler's tricks of the trade. Other material has been brought into line with current practice. No officer who stands watch at sea or in port should be without this useful volume.

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Leadership Lessons of the U.S. Navy SEALS : Battle-Tested Strategies for Creating Successful Organizations and Inspiring Extraordinary Results Review

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(More customer reviews)I chose to buy and read this book because one of its authors was a Navy SEAL, and it promised to highlight military leadership lessons from a SEAL perspective. I soon discovered an outstandingly balanced and informative organizational leadership book that took an honest military leadership perspective and effectively applied it directly and indirectly to civilian business environments. This real-world leadership book should appeal to any military-related person and anyone interested in better understanding the military and business leadership connection.
This book was written by a brother duo, one a successful corporate executive and the other an experienced SEAL officer. In their introduction, they accurately assessed what made the book stand apart from other leadership books I have read: "Be forewarned: This book does not pay homage to godlike CEOs, legendary generals, and other corporate cult figures. It is our view that masterful leadership and effective teams, not colorful mavericks, produce success...Every great leader has a great team above, around, and behind him or her...[The book is] a collection of lessons from SEAL training and SEAL operations that have been tested in the business world."
The book is broken down into six chapters (Setting Goals, Organization-Create Structure or Fight Alone, Leadership-The Hardest Easy Thing, The Thundering Herd, Building a Thundering Herd, and Now Maintain Your Momentum), with embedded lessons related to each chapter title. Each lesson starts with a SEAL mission (a SEAL team sea-story or experience) and ends with a suggested business take-away. The lessons stimulated thought and offered ideas for improving individual and organizational leadership. The authors left it to the readers to decide which lessons applied to their situations and then challenged them to apply those lessons.
The authors' candid perspectives and observations were refreshing and were reflected in their equally straightforward lessons. A sampling of the authors' colorful lessons includes:
*Avoid creating a capability and then looking for a mission to justify it
*Build boundaries to prevent infighting and cannibalism
*If you think no one else can replace you, you're an egotistical S.O.B. who's failed
*There are probably good reasons why your marching orders seem screwed up
*Identify your lead dogs, feed them well, and build a pack around them
*If you need to scream, you need to practice
The team-building and teamwork concepts emphasized in this book apply to military and business leaders and organizations. If you want time-tested ideas to improve your leadership, or your organization's effectiveness, then you should read this book.

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THE NAVY SEAL WAY TO WIN IN BUSINESS

Leadership and teamwork techniques of the military elite, where partnering is mandatory, and failure is never an option

As increasing focus is placed on fully utilizing and leveraging the value of employees, managers are finding that strong team leadership can be the answer to increasing productivity, reducing turnover, and boosting morale. A coherent, proven approach to teambuilding and leadership is very much in demand. Such an approach exists in today's military, where powerful leadership and effective teamwork are more than just concepts­­they're necessities. Leadership Lessons of the Navy SEALs analyzes the leadership and team-building techniques and strategies of elite Navy SEAL units, and guides business leaders and managers in creating, training, and leading teams that are extraordinarily successful at carrying out the company's mission.

Built around inspiring real-life stories from both the military and business worlds, this no-nonsense book outlines a step-by-step approach for boosting morale and increasing productivity. Leaders from every business environment will discover techniques to:

Communicate objectives simply and forcefully
Build flexible, dynamic organizational structures
Acquire and keep important team members
Gain the trust and loyalty of team members
Prevent bureaucracy within chains of command
Effectively train their eventual replacements
Plan and prepare for crises
Make training relevant

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

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(More customer reviews)This book and its author have received a lot of media exposure, so I decided to check it out. While Abrashoff espouses proven leadership techniques, the only really new learning is how one man applied the principles on a Navy ship with a complement of 311 sailors. This is more a story of one man's awakening to how leadership is considerably more effective than management; how getting out of people's way is wiser than micromanaging them.
Leadership is emphasized in the book, and in every endorsement quote on the back cover. Yet, the subtitle says "management techniques," not "leadership techniques." Leadership did not come easy to Abrashoff; he had a lot of learning to do...and undo. As he moves through the chapters, this retired Navy Captain talks about his experiences in leading by example, listening, communicating purpose and meaning, creating a climate of trust, focusing on results, taking calculated risks, building people and unity, and strengthening quality of life.
Good leaders can tell you all about these concepts and how they are applied in their organization. Aspiring leaders and those who have not yet seen the light will be awe-struck by what Abrashoff accomplished. Solid, experienced leaders will see this book as more of a case study and a reinforcement of what they're already doing. As I have observed today's military leaders-as a citizen and as a consultant who has had the privilege of working with military leaders, the "system" is not as counterproductive as the author would lead us to believe. Bureaucracy is still bureaucracy, but Abrashoff is not alone in his practice of leadership skills.
Abrashoff applied leadership skills on his ship to achieve significant measurable results. I'm glad he documented his achievements so others might be inspired. I noted that he compared and linked his military experiences and perspectives to civilian applications. Through relationships with Fast Company magazine and other organizations, this author is now giving speeches and probably consulting. This book and the attendant publicity could be viewed as effective tools to position him as a sought-after speaker.
In all fairness, while the leadership principles and anecdotes from the USS Benfold are certainly present, this book struck me as more of an autobiography of the growth of a leader. For a treatise about leadership and considering the title, I was surprised to see such heavy use of first person pronouns in the writing.
Company owners and senior executives will find the book valuable as a case study of one man's experience. Managers will learn principles and techniques that can substantially improve their performance. Some readers will feel reinforced; others will feel discomforted by the heavy sense of ego and rationalization. It's a shame that Abrashoff did not choose to stay in the Navy to effect those changes he says are so needed; instead he left the service to write a book focused on two years of his work and hit the lecture circuit.

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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.

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