It's Your Ship

Early in the book, Abrashoff makes a bold claim: “Stasis is death to any organization. Evolve or die: It’s the law of life” (8). When times change, so must organizations. However, many organizations do not adopt this outlook. Instead, they hold onto what has worked in the past, even as evidence emerges that shows the inefficacy of their current models, leadership strategies included. For example, “A Gallup study found that when people leave their companies, 65 percent of them are actually leaving their managers” (3). People do not want to be treated poorly, and in the modern workplace, putting up with mistreatment is not acceptable. This is the scenario Abrashoff encountered when he took command of the Benfold, which only had a 28% retention rate due to the previous captain’s poor performance. Micromanaging and classism communicated a lack of respect for the sailors under that captain’s command, and this created low morale and disunity among the crew.

Rather than follow outdated leadership models, Abrashoff recognized even prior to assuming command of the ship that managerial trends were changing: “In all sorts of thriving business, the managerial role has changed from order-giver to people-developer, from authoritarian boss to talent cultivator” (218-19).