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

Naval captain D. Michael Abrashoff reveals the management principles that shaped his ship, the U.S.S. Benfold, into a model of leadership as progressive as any celebrated in the business world.The most important thing a captain can do is to see the ship from the eyes of the crew. This belief has successfully guided D. Michael Abrashoff, the captain of one of the U.S. Navys most modern and lethal warships. Abrashoff has revolutionized how to handle such challenging problems as excessive costs, low morale, sexual harassment, and constant turn-over. Business managers will benefit from Abrashoffs guiding belief that focus should be on empowering your people rather than on chain of command. By shifting organizing principles from obedience to performance, managers will be rewarded with remarkable productivity. As Abrashoff explains, the more people enjoy the process, the better the results. Good leaders listen to the people under their commandand use their ideas to improve operating procedures.

Other than the sobering fact that real lives are regularly at stake, running a navy ship is a lot like running a business: leaders of both must get the most out of their crews to operate at peak efficiency and complete the tasks at hand. As commander of the highly acclaimed USS Benfold, Captain D. Michael Abrashoff irrefutably demonstrated how progressive management can succeed at sea; in It's Your Ship, he translates his methods into an approach that can also be applied by land-bound captains of commerce and industry. Describing "the ideas and techniques that I used to win my sailors' trust and, eventually, their enthusiastic commitment to our joint goal of making our ship the best in the fleet," Abrashoff cites embarrassing failures along with subsequent triumphs to illuminate the keys to his accomplished 20-month tenure aboard the guided missile destroyer. His suggestions: 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. While hardly original on the surface, Abrashoff's course should provide practical direction and inspiration for any leader hoping for similarly positive results in similarly rigid organizations. --Howard Rothman

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Smarter Choice It's Your Ship : Management... by Michael D. Abrashoff. ISBN13: 9780446529112. ISBN10: 0446529117. Published by Hachette Book Group USA. Edition: 02 Used	Textbooks.com 2,445 reviews *smarter certified	$25 $13.75 Coupon 2 coupons available Code:No Code Required Detail: Free shipping w/ $25 purchase at Textbooks. Expires:Dec-31-2009 Restriction:Unknow Code:xicyx Detail: Use coupon code xicyx at checkout to enjoy Free Shipping on your order plus enter to win $500 at Textbooks. Expires:Dec-31-2009 Restriction:Unknow	See it
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Recent Reviews

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Aug-28-2009; Excellent reading for any leader; I received the book as a gift and found it to be entertaining and insightful. Abrashoff took risks and thought outside the box--not to promote himself, but to create the best working environment for his subordinates. I bought additional...; read full review | report as inappropriate

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Jul-21-2009; Management development through powerful stories; Can anyone in search of a culture of peace learn anything useful from the success story of a war ship? How does the management of a ship endeavored to be the best in its category serve as a point of reference for public and private...; read full review | report as inappropriate

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: May-15-2009; Everyone should read this book.; This book is very good and I recommend to all who are managers or looking to be managers to read this book. This book gives very good example of management skills.; read full review | report as inappropriate

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: May-07-2009; Modern Leadership and Change in Action; There are very few practical examples of a modern leader in action. The true story of Captain Abrashoff's remarkable accomplishment in transforming the USS Benfold from one of the worst to the best ship in the US Navy is one of them.How...; read full review | report as inappropriate

Selected Reviews

5/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Aug-28-2009; Excellent reading for any leader; I received the book as a gift and found it to be entertaining and insightful. Abrashoff took risks and thought outside the box--not to promote himself, but to create the best working environment for his subordinates. I bought additional...; read full review | report as inappropriate

3/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Mar-26-2006; Good leadership pointers, but lacks depth; I picked up this book with great interest due to all the hype about its' value. I found it to be a decent book on the tenets of leadership and offered some insight on how to deal with challenging senior managers, but where it fell short...; read full review | report as inappropriate

1/5: From: Amazon; Posted: Aug-31-2007; 3 words rating; " I DONT KNOW", how to rate this book because i have not received it. I was told that i would receive this product between 16 AUG and 29 AUG. it is now SEPT 1ST and still no product.; read full review | report as inappropriate