Business-Ship to Ship Book Review
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It’s Your Ship:
Management Techniques from the
Best Damn Ship in the Navy
Capt. D. Michael Abrashoff
Warner Books, 2002
Author’s Page
Captain D. Michael Abrashoff is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, and was a military assistant to the former secretary of defense, Dr. William J. Perry. He served as Commander of 310 men and women aboard the USS Benfold in the Pacific Fleet. Abrashoff left the Navy in 2001 and became the founder and CEO of Grassroots Leadership, Inc., in Boston.
www.grassrootsleadership.com
Other Books
Get Your Ship Together, 2005
Ship Happens, Coming 2006
It’s Your Ship Table of Contents
Introduction
Ch.1 Take Command
Ch.2 Lead by Example
Ch.3 Listen Aggressively
Ch.4 Communicate Purpose and Meaning
Ch.5 Create A Climate of Trust
Ch.6 Look for Results, Not Salutes
Ch.7 Take Calculated Risks
Ch.8 Go Beyond Standard Procedure
Ch.9 Build Up Your People
Ch.10 Generate Unity
Ch.11 Improve Your People’s Quality of Life
Ch. 12 Life After Benfold
Epilogue Beyond Benfold
Acknowledgements
Book Review Table of Contents
Title Page
Author’s Page
It’s Your Ship Table of Contents
Book Review Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction
Take Command
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
Improve Your People’s Quality of Life
Conclusion
Evaluation
Executive Summary
It’s Your Ship, by Capt. D. Michael Abrashoff is good read on understanding the basics of what he calls grassroots leadership he developed while a Commander in the Navy. He takes the reader through the journey of having a cutting-edge ship handed over him, while finding his own leadership lacking his expectations. While defying conventional Navy leadership tactics, Abrashoff created “a crew of confident and inspired problem-solvers eager to take the initiative and responsibility for their actions.” He ultimately succeeded in turning the USS Benfold into the “best damn ship in the Navy” in a matter of months. Within two years his ship became legendary inside and outside the Navy.
Abrashoff shares the valuable management skills he developed and effectively illustrates examples of how one can translate the same success in today’s businesses. Highlighting key concepts such as: see the ship through the eyes of the crew, communicate purpose and meaning, lead by example, and build up your people. The vivid examples he uses from his naval history make the reading interesting while educational. It’s Your Ship is a great book for