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

This was the best leadership book I have read. The takeaways, which is what I look for from a book of this sort, were clear, easy to understand, and in many cases, attended with relevant supporting stories and anecdotes. I listened to the audio book read by the author and found this enjoyable. I was motivated to share it with others, which is another indicator of what I thought. The self-congratulatory tone was a bit grating at times; the fact that he changed the world he controlled but largely ignored the bigger world around him that he could have potentially affected through his peers was disappointing. But I ultimately got a lot that I valued from the book, which is what I am looking for in these situations.

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 show more 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. show less

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 show more 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 show less

A continuation of my readings on leadership. Picked up this book when it was recommended by the great Brian Seppala, who said that it was a highly regarded book by Bill Belichick. I did enjoy this book, but for some unknown reason, I had difficulty finishing it. Every time I sat down to read it, I enjoyed it, but had little draw to return to it. Basically it took considerably long to get through. The lessons offered in the book by Abrashoff are timely and meaningful, but are stated in such a way that you either want to have more (and don't get it) or want to hear another perspective.

Perhaps the greatest lesson to take from this book is to be a pain in the ass to superiors, and have little embarrassment for doing so. Readers looking for show more quality leadership material would be better off looking into works of Bennis and Lencioni. show less

A tight, concise lesson in leadership from a CO who challenged the Navy beautacracy and built the best command culture in the Pacific Fleet. His lessons can be applied to any business.

Dustin Denton recommended reading this as an audiobook so I read it on one of my trip out to Little Rock MEPS. Awesome book on leadership from a navy captain's perspective. Lesson that stuck the most with me was how he went against the typical military pattern on spending all your money so you get that much again in the future. Instead, he encouraged ways to save money through conservation, hard work, and innovation. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this book, both for its stories and lessons. Captain Abraschoff was a speaker at the ITIL conference in Orlando (Jan. 2003). He was the captain of the U.S.S. Benfold. When he took over command, morale was terrible, turnover high and readiness in the cellar. Within months, he turned everything around and won the Spokane award for the best ship in the Navy. How did he do it? First, he lead by example, listened to the crew and responded to the needs immediately. He made his ship indispensable to his boss and eagerly attacked the toughest missions. The crew responded and came to be so proud of their ship that nothing would deter them from accomplishing their goal -all while having a little fun. They had the loudest sound show more system in the navy and loved to blare rock music and show movies on the side of the ship during dangerous night refueling operations.

This book is well written and very inspiring. Capt.. Abraschoff does a good job of identifying the lessons he learned and pointing out his mistakes along the way. He makes suggestions on how to apply the principles to corporate life. It is a very entertaining and educational book. Highly recommended.

Jan. 28, 2004 Reread the book today. It isn't very long and is a very easy read. I enjoyed it as much if not more than the first time. I believe anyone who leads should read this. Not all the points may be directly applicable, but the concepts are worth experimenting with. I want to have a chance to use his ideas. I am going to put this book on a "to be read every six months" list. show less