It's Our Ship: The No-Nonsense Guide to Leadership | Captain D. Michael Abrashoff

It's Our Ship: The No-Nonsense Guide to Leadership | Captain D. Michael Abrashoff | One of the best books I've read in a few years.

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It's Our Ship: The...

	It's Our Ship: The No-Nonsense Guide to Leadership Captain D. Michael Abrashoff Business Plus, 2008 - 208 pages average customer review:based on 8 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The story of Captain Abrashoff and his command of USS Benfold has become legendary inside and outside the Navy. By governing his ship with his unique management techniques, Abrashoff turned the Benfold into a model of naval efficiency, with amazing cost savings, the highest gunnery score in the Pacific Fleet, and a highly motivated and top performing crew.

In IT'S YOUR SHIP, he first demonstrated how to bring his successful management techniques from the ship to the boardroom. Now, in his newest book IT'S OUR SHIP, in the same rugged, can-do voice, Abrashoff will focus on the leadership, motivational, and management insights and tips that he has learned from his last six years of addressing business and corporate audiences.

Abrashoff's timely advice will be eminently prescriptive, and will feature anecdotes and insights from leaders of businesses large and small and from public and non-profit sectors.

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IT'S OUR SHIP

I'm a big fan of Captain D. Michael Abrashoff's leadership methods and his books. His latest, IT'S OUR SHIP - The No Nonsense Guide to Leadership is the third in a series based on his command tour aboard USS BENFOLD (DDG65) and building on his experiences with leaders in the business world. In this third book, I see Michael's growth as an author and as a leader. The third book includes some snippets from the story outlined in his first best seller - IT'S YOUR SHIP. Sure to be a best seller in its own right, IT'S OUR SHIP provides a great blend of Michael's own story with those of other proven leaders in the business world. These are stories worth telling and Michael tells them exceedingly well. In his latest book, he takes you back to USS Benfold, then to The Container Store, Pitney Bowes, Aflac, 1-800-GOT-JUNK and many other commercial enterprises before ending where he started - USS BENFOLD. From each enterprise, he brings together their leadership lessons with his and demonstrates that these principles work in every environment. All it takes is "collaboration" - the key word in this book.

I come at the three books (the second was GET YOUR SHIP TOGETHER) from a different perspective and much more critical eye than most readers. I was commissioned the same year (1982) Michael was - though from Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island rather than the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. We both assumed command in 1997 (though my command was a shore command) and we both worked for the Secretary of Defense (though mine was Donald H. Rumsfeld - as fine, patriotic, and honest a man as ever served (twice) in that demanding position). When I assumed command, I was taking over for an interim caretaker Commanding Officer who was nurturing a command back to health after two failed Inspector General inspections (somewhat like the Operational Propulsion Plant Examination that USS BENFOLD had failed before Michael assumed command). I know first-hand the challenges of command. I retired as a Navy Captain in 2006 with a career spanning 30 years of service as an enlisted Sailor and a commissioned one. I am a Navyman. I fully appreciate the context of his books and the purpose for which they were written. Read these books, apply the principles and watch your people grow, succeed and surpass your expectations.

I know that the leadership principles that Michael outlined in all three books work. They work extraordinarily well, when properly employed. They worked for him, they worked for me, they work for Commanding Officers at sea and ashore today, and they will work for you. Captain Abrashoff is a masterful leader and brilliant storyteller. I've gone back to do some research and can't validate that "virtually all 310 Sailors were deeply demoralized" or that "clearly his (the former CO's) leadership had failed", as Michael has described the situation. I say this, because statements like these are toned down a bit in his second and third books, which shows Michael's growth as both author and leader. While this over-dramatization tells a better story, Arleigh Burke destroyer Sailors are the cream of the crop of surface Sailors. Michael started off in a far better position than a reader might otherwise think, though he and his crew faced significant challenges and overcame them together to achieve remarkable successes by any measure.

Commander Abrashoff assumed command of a nearly new Arleigh Burke destroyer and inherited a crew that suffered the natural trials and tribulations of pre-commissioning a ship and `bringing her to life.' The truth of the matter is that three of the officers under the former CO and the former CO himself are all Navy Flag officers today - the enlisted Sailors of that first crew went on to enjoy great success as well. The first CO of USS BENFOLD was certainly doing something right and continues to do well on active duty today. I think it's more a matter of different approaches to leadership - there are many ways to effectively command an Arleigh Burke destroyer.

I give you my own insight so that you understand fully that there is no doubting that Commander Abrashoff's approach is successful - and he fills you with genuine confidence that you can be equally successful (that in itself is a sign of a good leader). Leaders everywhere would do well to make his three books a part of their libraries - but only putting them on the shelf after they have devoured every word. I remain a student of leadership and Michael's books have contributed greatly to my education. I could have used them at the start, in the middle and at the end of my Navy career. I read and reread them today. And I will, again, tomorrow. I hope you'll join me. You will not regret it.

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One of the best books I've read in a few years.

This book is an easy read that makes you change behaviors immediately. I bought copies for all of my supervisors. I highly recommend it.

More than "old wine in new bottles"

There are countless leadership books available, and many of them simply repackage the old chestnuts in a new context or apply new terminology to the same principles. Michael Abrashoff somehow manages a different take on leadership. His success in turning around a ship and making it the pride of the fleet gives him credibility, as does his willingness to make the right decision even in the face of the unforgiving military promotion machine, recognizing that he was signaling the end of his rise through the ranks. Abrashoff's compassionate but firm style would serve many leaders well, regardless of their field. "It's Our Ship" an easy but provocative read and well worth the time.

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Leadership 202

Great book. 3rd in a series of 3 that reviews a few issues brought up as a result of writing his first book "it's your ship". Regardless of the fact that you are in a leadership position or not, this books provide the individual with the basic building blocks that all individuals should strive to achieve.

Abrashoff, Rebel

Finishing this book, I thought, it's ok. Fundamental advice, nothing too innovative, well told: treat your people well; make sure even those with tough jobs get your appreciation and understand you know that their job requires skill like any other( Abrashoff tells of visiting on a regular basis the sole sailor responsible for the ship's waste); train your people to be good and then delegate to them; make sure you understand that people are always looking at what the leader says and does. and take their cue accordingly. But, on reflection, the book is much more, although not apparent. It really is a story of a guy who worked for an organization that is rigid, with often pointless rituals, and arrogant leadership. That is, the Navy. The real narrative and book value is how he managed well in this environment. By way of example, his evals of his officers were forced ranked a la Enron, and made or broke careers, pitting one officer against another and making it harder to manage, not easier( so he told them I can't change the system but I will help you transition to civilian life by getting you marketable assignments). Great section on how to decide how much risk to undertake and deciding what is worth a risk. For those stuck in this type of organization, the books speaks to you. Take a read.

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reviews: page 1, 2

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