 Benfold crew knows we're the best! |
| Review Date: December 11, 2003 |
| Reviewer: EW3 Holly (Davis) Simpson, Louisville, KY |
| I am a plankowner of the Benfold and admired Capt. Abrashoff's leadership. His superior leadership brought the moral of our ship from just ordinary shipboard life to a ship that many in the fleet wanted to become a part of. Our ship was a show-piece and we were proud to carry out his orders. What could have been a horribly desolate six months on deployment, including the holidays spent in the Gulf in 97-98, turned into a memorable experience for all, thanks to Capt. Abrashoff who even made UnRep a grand event! We learned from him that although we had a VERY important job to conduct, we were rewarded with pride in our accomplishments. Capt. Abrashoff was a very approachable Commanding Officer, an experience I had never encountered in the military and has been rare while employed with state government. He made an effort to see that his crew not only did their jobs exceptionally well, but that we enjoyed the festivities he provided for the ship while in port. I have read his fantastic book, reliving all the memories of my Benfold life and have used his leadership knowledge to become a successful professional in the "civilian" world. To the readers who feel Capt. Abrashoff is "arrogant" in his leadership style--I think if you had as awesome a ship as the Benfold to be a part of, you would be extremely proud of it and the leadership that made it such a fine place to spend a few years of your life. |
Not new, rediscovering the old wisdom
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| Review Date: March 31, 2003 |
| Reviewer: Robert A. Drensek, Huntsville, AL USA |
| As Yogi said... De ja vu all over again. D. Abrashoff graduated the USN Academy in 1982, I graduated the USAF Academy in 1983, a comtemporary of mine then. Reading his book reminded me of all the things I suffered through my tour of active duty. It also reminded me of the basics I was taught at MY academy. On a theoretical level, nothing new here. On a practical level, this book is a gem, and I have just recommended it to my process improvement team. The book is packed full of some ones learning on how to implement what a lot of other books explain in theory. The author doesn't plot out checklists, but gives meaningful anecdotes to explain his experience and point he is making. His key points are the chapter headings:
Take Command
Lead by Example
Listen Agressively
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 A key take away for me, and in my experience, it is one thing to "COPY EXACTLY" (stealing an Intel term), it is another to understand the principle. By his examples, he indicates that other ships copied techniques (benchmarking) and improved specific areas of performance (all good), but failed to understand the principles involved. This allowed them to not extend improvements to other areas of their processes. This has been mimiced in business by all the failed initiatives that litter the highway, all good if you pay attention to their design, key assumptions, and core principles. I though the book was well written, to the point, well illustrated with examples, all expressing key truths (though not new, well done). You can find other books that take each aspect (check the chapters) and dive deep into theory, but if you want a practitioners guide to how to get it done, this is a great book. |
Inspirational and Practical
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| Review Date: June 26, 2002 |
| Reviewer: Bruce V. Culver, |
| I was fortunate enough to hear the author speak once at work. He provides the inspiration and can-do attitude that empowers people that they can make a difference. He is so effective because he has done it. He could have never changed his part of the Navy unless, his employees, unless he led them through the change himself. He led from the front and backed up his employees. He could have never pulled things off without having the courage to make mistakes and learn. He provides excellent examples of managing up and down the organization...something every leader needs. It is also a skill every employee wants to see in their leader. It was refreshing to see Abrashoff apply his daily learnings to his work. Each time a new risk was taken, whether the risk was successful or not, the author applied the learnings for the next opportunity, readying his team to learn from their trials. This book is easy to read and practical...a leadership guide that all leaders should read. This will be a must read for my team. |
Comments from a former Marine and current academic
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| Review Date: May 12, 2002 |
| Reviewer: Dr. Thomas M. Box, Pittsburg, KS United States |
| I just read Abrashoff's "It's Your Ship" and strongly recommend the book to managers at all levels and academics that teach Management, Organizational Behavior and Leadership. The author, Captain D. Michael Abrashoff - former commander of the USS Benfold, write in an engaging, easy to read style. The information he conveys is priceless. If you are concerned about productivity, profitability and opportunities for growth, the book is a handbook for success. Having spent many years in the "old Corps (USMC)", heavy industry and higher education, I, too, have come to reject the old fashioned and dysfunctional command and control approach to leadership. There is a much better model and it is well described and richly illustrated in this book. |
One of the best books on leadership you'll find
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| Review Date: February 22, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Jim Peterson, San Francisco, CA United States |
I am a cynic on business books. There is a lot of drivel out there penned by half-wits. This book is not one of them.
This book presents practical, common-sense leadership ideas that have been field tested in one of the most rigid organizations going- and yielded extraordinary results. I particularly like the author's emphasis on encouraging feedback from lower level team members, common sense solutions, quick action on new and promising ideas, and concern for all members of the team. The fact that his ideas on leadership are the distilled results of what he did to turn a troubled ship into a Navy-leading example give the author credibility. It's an inspiring read, and I found myself unable to put the book down.
This is definitely a book I'll put front and center of my bookshelf, and come back to again and again. I've already passed it to another member of my team.
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