Book cover of Turn the Ship Around! A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders

Book description

"Leadership should mean giving control rather than taking control and creating leaders rather than forging followers."

David Marquet, an experienced Navy officer, was used to giving orders. As newly appointed captain of the USS Santa Fe, a nuclear-powered submarine, he was responsible for more than a hundred sailors, deep in…

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Why read it?

5 authors picked Turn the Ship Around! A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Over the last few years, I became deeply passionate about leadership, personal development, and growth. This triggered a step change in my personal happiness and my professional successes. It all started with this book. Reading this was like someone lifting the veil on successful leadership. It simply communicated what I thought was wrong with legacy leadership models.

After reading this book, I gave speeches at work about the importance of clarity and competence, of using the words ‘I intend’. It inspired me to write about leadership. This book changed my outlook on life and was the fuel to accelerate my…

Captain Marquette’s YouTube video inspired me to create a highly productive team using independent thinking. Then, reading his book really spoke to me because it resonated with my first working experience outside the University of Massachusetts—namely, with the Pittsburgh Pirates as SVP of Business. The Pirates were the worst team in Major League Baseball then, losing over 100 games per season, drawing only 7,000 fans per game, and losing $10M annually. The staff were deflated and defeated.

After getting direct input from the senior staff, I planned the Pirates turnaround in three stages: 1. Stop the ship sailing in the…

After reading Captain David Marquet's book, I realized that Marquet had discovered a modern approach to leadership that differs substantially from traditional thinking.

What I love about the book is that it is a real-life story about how Marquet transformed the USS Santa Fe, a submarine with the worst performance record. Through empowering his crew and fostering leadership at every level, Marquet illustrates how giving up conventional thinking by relinquishing control unlocks the crew’s hidden potential. Doing so not only boosts morale but enables the crew to achieve remarkable results.

I believe that if you embrace Marquet's approach, you can…

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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Technology is rarely the problem in most organizations. It’s people, processes, and how the two come together to create a web of dysfunction.

I loved Turn the Ship Around because it takes you on a journey from start to finish and sprinkles the lessons for change throughout that journey. The book taught the importance of empowering leadership throughout an organization.

As leaders we can do more harm than good by accidentally hording the power of decision making. This book will teach you to undo that mistake.

Turn the Ship Around is the amazing and lovely story about how Captain David L. Marquet completely turned the way a nuclear submarine worked upside down.

From giving orders to giving intent and in doing so creating new leaders rather than mindless executors.

The book is packed with nuggets (nudges?) of management gold like “Move the authority to where the information is,” for example. I keep coming back to this inspiring story over and over again. Sadly I lost my copy, but it lives in my mind forever.

From Marcus' list on leadership and change management.

If you love Turn the Ship Around! A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders...

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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

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