At the Helm: Business Lessons for Navigating Rough Waters (Hardcover)

~ (Author), (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"At the Helm takes you beyond the drama of the high seas and into the real-life stories of successful CEOs who are applying the art of sailing to their business practice. You will be inspired."
--Ken Blanchard, coauthor, The One Minute Manager, Raving Fans, and Gung Ho!

What the CEOs Say About Applying Sailing Lessons to Business:

"Sailors often call for a one-minute, or five-minute, delay in responding to changed conditions on the race course. A shift may not last, or a building breeze may drop in velocity. The same is true in business. It's often better to take the time to be sure, or to let your judgment season..."
--George David, chairman and CEO, United Technologies Corporation

"Sometimes the guy on the bow knows more about what's going on up there than you do in the back steering the boat."
--Roy Disney, vice chairman, The Walt Disney Company

"You've got to maneuver constantly to take advantage of the shifting winds--you can't plan on one brute course and expect to win. The biggest lesson for my business is that we've got to change and we've got to be flexible."
--Bill Koch, America's Cup winner, founder and president of Oxbow Corporation

"It pays to let your crew talk to you and to listen to what they have to say..."
--Pete du Pont, former congressman and governor

"In sailboat racing and in business, there's a lot of maneuvering where one boat is trying to stay in front of the other guy...Sometimes you have to take a chance because it's the only way to get past somebody."
--Michael Spence, former dean and Philip H. Knight Professor of Economics, Stanford University's Graduate School of Business -- Review

An imaginative tour de force which makes for fascinating reading. The skill and courage it takes to succeed in the highly competitive business of international yacht racing, it turns out, have some important lessons for those in the executive suites. -- Walter Cronkite

Review

"At the Helm takes you beyond the drama of the high seas and into the real-life stories of successful CEOs who are applying the art of sailing to their business practice. You will be inspired."
--Ken Blanchard, coauthor, The One Minute Manager, Raving Fans, and Gung Ho!

What the CEOs Say About Applying Sailing Lessons to Business:

"Sailors often call for a one-minute, or five-minute, delay in responding to changed conditions on the race course. A shift may not last, or a building breeze may drop in velocity. The same is true in business. It's often better to take the time to be sure, or to let your judgment season..."
--George David, chairman and CEO, United Technologies Corporation

"Sometimes the guy on the bow knows more about what's going on up there than you do in the back steering the boat."
--Roy Disney, vice chairman, The Walt Disney Company

"You've got to maneuver constantly to take advantage of the shifting winds--you can't plan on one brute course and expect to win. The biggest lesson for my business is that we've got to change and we've got to be flexible."
--Bill Koch, America's Cup winner, founder and president of Oxbow Corporation

"It pays to let your crew talk to you and to listen to what they have to say..."
--Pete du Pont, former congressman and governor

"In sailboat racing and in business, there's a lot of maneuvering where one boat is trying to stay in front of the other guy...Sometimes you have to take a chance because it's the only way to get past somebody."
--Michael Spence, former dean and Philip H. Knight Professor of Economics, Stanford University's Graduate School of Business

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday Business (January 18, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385497962
• ISBN-13: 978-0385497961
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,533,023 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sailing is analogous with life, April 28, 2000

By	Guy Brierre (New Orleans, LA) - See all my reviews

This book solidifies many beliefs I have had throughout life that sailing prepares one well for all aspects of life, including the business world. Peter has selected a great group of successful businessmen who have great stories to tell. This book will be used as a gift to several of my clients come Christmastime.

As a Star sailor, my favorite story involves Malin Burnham retiring from a race for hitting a mark even though no one else witnessed the event. It cost him the Star World Championship, yet he never thought twice about doing it any other way. This is a great example of an era when ethics and a man's word was everything. We can only hope that it may become that way once again.

Thanks, Peter for a very good book.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The real deal!, January 24, 2000

By	Roger Callaway (Washington DC) - See all my reviews

I simply loved reading this book. Too many books on leadership and management seem to be full of made up stories with little or no relevance to the real world, or they are just downright boring. That is definitely not the case with this book! Not only is the advice real, but it's exceptionally useful to real businesspeople in real businesses, and it's fun to read.

And while the business content is first rate, I really loved reading Isler's exciting stories about sailboat racing. It's just like you're there on the water sailing with him -- wind in your hair and salt spray in your face! If you've been following the America's Cup on TV, you know that these guys and gals know all about leadership and team work -- in a BIG way.

Kudos to the authors for a fresh take on an old (and often stale) subject!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome read, February 8, 2000

By	Drew Freides - See all my reviews

This book has some incredible lessons to be learned. Yes, I am briefly interviewed in the book, but the rest of the book is the good part. Very well written with some great excerpts from some of the most effective CEOs and executes in the US. Also has some great anecdotes from Peter's America's Cup experiences. Definitely worth reading. Can improve both your racing and the way you run your business. Both enjoyable and extremely useful.