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Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders Hardcover – May 16, 2013
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"The best how-to manual anywhere for managers on delegating, training, and driving flawless execution.” —FORTUNE
Since Turn the Ship Around! was published in 2013, hundreds of thousands of readers have been inspired by former Navy captain David Marquet’s true story. Many have applied his insights to their own organizations, creating workplaces where everyone takes responsibility for his or her actions, where followers grow to become leaders, and where happier teams drive dramatically better results.
Marquet was a Naval Academy graduate and an experienced officer when selected for submarine command. Trained to give orders in the traditional model of “know all–tell all” leadership, he faced a new wrinkle when he was shifted to the Santa Fe, a nuclear-powered submarine. Facing the high-stress environment of a sub where there’s little margin for error, he was determined to reverse the trends he found on the Santa Fe: poor morale, poor performance, and the worst retention rate in the fleet.
Almost immediately, Marquet ran into trouble when he unknowingly gave an impossible order, and his crew tried to follow it anyway. When he asked why, the answer was: “Because you told me to.” Marquet realized that while he had been trained for a different submarine, his crew had been trained to do what they were told—a deadly combination.
That’s when Marquet flipped the leadership model on its head and pushed for leadership at every level. Turn the Ship Around! reveals how the Santa Fe skyrocketed from worst to first in the fleet by challenging the U.S. Navy’s traditional leader-follower approach. Struggling against his own instincts to take control, he instead achieved the vastly more powerful model of giving control to his subordinates, and creating leaders.
Before long, each member of Marquet’s crew became a leader and assumed responsibility for everything he did, from clerical tasks to crucial combat decisions. The crew became completely engaged, contributing their full intellectual capacity every day. The Santa Fe set records for performance, morale, and retention. And over the next decade, a highly disproportionate number of the officers of the Santa Fe were selected to become submarine commanders.
Whether you need a major change of course or just a tweak of the rudder, you can apply Marquet’s methods to turn your own ship around.
Review
I don't know of a finer model of this kind of empowering leadership than Captain Marquet. And in the pages that follow you will find a model for your pathway. -- Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
To say I'm a fan of David Marquet would be an understatement... I'm a fully fledged groupie. He is the kind of leader who comes around only once a generation. He is the kind of leader who doesn't just know how to lead, he knows how to build leaders. His ideas and lessons are invaluable to anyone who wants to build an organization that will outlive them. -- Simon Sinek, optimist and author of Start with Why
How do we release the intellect and initiative of each member of the organization toward a common purpose? Here's the answer: With fascinating storytelling and a deep understanding of what motivates and inspires. David Marquet provides leaders in the military, business, and education a powerful vehicle that will delight, provoke, and encourage them to act. -- Michael P. Peters, president of the St. John's College, Santa Fe
I owe a lot to Captain David Marquet ... not only for turning the Santa Fe around during some REALLY bad times but I learned many lessons on leadership from him that have been invaluable in my post-Navy life. I preach the three legs (control, competence, clarity) of Leader-Leader everyday to empower my people and move the decisions to where the information lives... I used these principles to turn around the GE Dallas Generator Repair Department, which was in crisis when I arrived in 2010 and now is the best Generator Repair Department in the GE Network... Now I am tasked with turning around the Dallas Steam Turbine Repair Department... -- Adam McAnally, Steam Turbine Cell Leader at the GE Dallas Service Center and former crewmember, USS Santa Fe
This terrific read actually provides new and valuable insights into how to lead. And nothing important gets done without leadership. Captain Marquet takes you through his life of learning how to lead, and presents you with a winning formula: not leader-follower, but leader-leader. It's about leading by getting others to take responsibility--and like it. It works for business, politics, and life. -- Leslie H. Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of several business boards, and a former columnist for The New York Times
It's the Hunt for Red October meets Harvard Business School. Turn the Ship Around! is the consummate book on leadership for the Information Age--where unleashing knowledge workers' intellectual capital is pivotal in optimizing organizational performance: from maximizing market share and minimizing customer churn to improving margins. Capt. Marquet's thesis is a complete paradigm shift in leadership philosophy. This new approach to leadership is applicable in all industries and across all corporate functions. If you're an Organizational Behavior or Leadership expert or enthusiast this book can have a substantial impact on you and your organization s ability to meet its goals. -- Joe DeBono, Founder and President of MBA Corps and Merrill Lynch Wealth Manager
David Marquet's message in Turn the Ship Around! inspires the empowerment of engaged people and leadership at all levels. He encourages leaders to release energy, intellect, and passion in everyone around them. Turn the Ship Around! challenges the paradigm of the hierarchical organization by revealing the process to tear down pyramids, create a flat organization, and to develop leaders, not followers. -- Dale R. Wilson, Sr., business management professional, and editor/blogger at Command Performance Leadership (commandperformanceleadership.wordpress.com)
This is the story of Captain David Marquet's unprecedented experiment in the most rigid of environments on the Santa Fe, a U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarine. He had the courage to operate counter-culture, reengineering the very definition of leadership accepted by the U.S. Navy for as long as it has existed. He took huge risk to do this. The outcome was revolutionary - within a few short months, the crew of the Santa Fe went from worst to first. In today's information age, Human Capital is our most precious resource. It is the 21stCentury weapon of choice. Captain David Marquet's experiment in leadership has far greater application to the entire business world. This is thought leadership. -- Charlie Kim, Founder & CEO of Next Jump, Inc.
Leaders and managers face an increasingly complex world, where precise execution, teamwork and enabling of talent are competitive advantages. David Marquet provides a blue print, along with real-life examples and implementation mechanisms. Anyone who is charged with leading and making a difference needs to read this. -- John Cooper, President and CEO, Invesco Distributors
David Marquet's book discusses 'successful motivation' that provided his people the energy to overcome difficult obstacles. The values that he imbued in his folks provided a 'burst of energy' that positively energized them by satisfying their needs for achievement, providing appropriate recognition, providing a sense of belonging, developing self-esteem, permitting a feeling of control, and permitting an ability to live up to appropriate standards. This type of leadership energizes the work force and allows senior management to 'paint the future and light a path that takes the entire team to it.' This is a must read for all who desire good moral influence on the work force! -- Vice Admiral Al Konetzni, (USN, ret.) Former Pacific Fleet submarine commander.
The legacy of a Commanding Officer, or the leader of any organization, is how well the organization performs after he/she departs and the subsequent motivation, success and institutional contribution of those next generation leaders trained and developed. Read Turn the Ship Around! and you will learn how to build an enduring high performer, where people can't wait to get to work. -- Admiral Thomas B. Fargo (USN, ret.) Former Commander U.S. Pacific Command Chairman, Huntington Ingalls Industries
What I learned from and with David Marquet is that developing a bottom-up, Leader-Leader culture produces highly empowered people and highly effective teams. It worked on a nuclear submarine and it worked in the mountains of Afghanistan. That said, cultivating a Leader-Leader culture is much easier said than done because you must overturn almost everything people grow up thinking and learning about leadership. -- Captain (sel) Dave Adams, USN, Former Weapons Officer, USS Santa Fe, Khost Province PRT commander, Commanding Officer, USS Santa Fe
Captain Marquet's compelling leadership journey inspires each of us to imagine a world where every human being is intellectually engaged and fully committed to solving our toughest challenges. If it can be done on a nuclear submarine, it can be done everywhere. Turn the Ship Around! delivers a brilliant message. -- Liz Wiseman, Author of Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter
About the Author
- Print length272 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPortfolio
- Publication dateMay 16, 2013
- Dimensions5.71 x 0.96 x 8.52 inches
- ISBN-101591846404
- ISBN-13978-1591846406
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Product details
- Publisher : Portfolio; 1st edition (May 16, 2013)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 272 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1591846404
- ISBN-13 : 978-1591846406
- Item Weight : 14.1 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.71 x 0.96 x 8.52 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #10,766 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #29 in Workplace Culture (Books)
- #168 in Business Management (Books)
- #249 in Leadership & Motivation
- Customer Reviews:
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About the author

Wall Street Journal bestselling author L. David Marquet imagines a work place where everyone engages and contributes their full intellectual capacity, a place where people are healthier and happier because they have more control over their work–a place where everyone is a leader.
A 1981 U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Captain Marquet served in the U.S. submarine force for 28 years. After being assigned to command the nuclear powered submarine USS Santa Fe, then ranked last in retention and operational standing, he realized the traditional leadership approach of “take control, give orders,” wouldn’t work. He “turned the ship around” by treating the crew as leaders, not followers, and giving control, not taking control. This approach took the Santa Fe from “worst to first,” achieving the highest retention and operational standings in the navy.
After David’s departure from the ship, the Santa Fe continued to win awards and promoted a disproportionate number of officers and enlisted men to positions of increased responsibility, including ten subsequent submarine captains. Further, having been on the ship, Stephen R. Covey said it was the most empowering organization he’d ever seen and wrote about Captain Marquet’s leadership practices in his book, The 8th Habit.
Captain Marquet is the author of Leadership is Language, Turn the Ship Around! and companion workbook,The Turn the Ship Around Workbook. Fortune magazine called the book the “best how-to manual anywhere for managers on delegating, training, and driving flawless execution.”
Captain Marquet retired from the Navy in 2009, and delivers the powerful Intent-Based Leadership message: that leadership is not for the select few at the top. In highly effective organizations, there are leaders at every level. David speaks to those who want to create empowering work environments that release the passion, initiative, and intellect of each person. His bold and highly effective framework is summarized as “give control, create leaders.”
He lives in Florida, is an enthusiastic novice trail runner, and a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Website - www.davidmarquet.com
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Therefore, the author takes the reader on his journey of becoming the captain of the nuclear powered attack submarine U.S.S. Santa Fe. The author begins to discuss his own emerging philosophy borne out of his reflection that he no longer desires to lead from the top down but instead desires to lead leader to leader. It is in the context of becoming a leader of a low performing ship with men who were used to a top-down culture that dehumanized their ability to contribute to the betterment of the operation of the vessel by thinking and taking responsibility for more than just their own assigned task but to see how they contributed to the overall mission of the ship. The understanding concerning this new paradigm of leadership is more of an enabling art as it related to releasing human talent and potential. In the words of the author, David Marquet,”You may be able to “buy” a person’s back with a paycheck, position, power, or fear, but a human being’s genius, passion, loyalty, and tenacious creativity are volunteered only. The world’s greatest problems will be solved by passionate, unleashed “volunteers.”[1] This writer appreciates what Dana Theus in her review of this book presents a functional definition of empowerment by writing,” By definition, we’re sending our troops inside their soul, where we have no control. The essence of empowerment is that you hand over control and see what they can do with it. When it works, they boost performance with creativity, drive and innovation. But of course, they sometimes don’t.
Leading this way is impossible for control freaks and nerve-wracking for everyone else, because we may end up presiding over a performance nosedive, lost profit or angry customers. True empowerment that which leads to inpowered success, is not bunk, but it is a risk.”[2]
None of us are as smart as all of us!
David Marquet’s definition of leadership is interwoven throughout the book: “Leadership is communicating to people their worth and potential so clearly that they are inspired to see it in themselves.” [3] It is with this definition that you the reader can begin to see the writings of Robert Greenleaf’s Servant Leadership Theory on steroids. Ultimately a leader is more concerned for the success of those that leader serves than even their own success. In order to embrace this perspective as more than a trendy approach for a leader to disguise their mechanisms for control the author presents how a leader must begin to deconstruct a culture of control and then build mechanisms on two pillars which are competence and clarity. A leader who is going to begin a leader to leader culture must begin with the conviction that genius resides in the people that they serve with and decision-making at its best requires that genius to be heard.
Me Pastor- You Sheep
I highly recommend ecclesiastical leaders to read this book because most of the mistakes of leadership in the church come from archaic notions of leadership that are simply untrue. We are living in the middle of one of the most profound shifts in human history, where the primary work of mankind is moving from the Industrial Age of “control” to the Knowledge Worker Age of “release.” What a think this book can do for Pastors in the local church is a functional matrix by which the theological conviction of the “Priesthood of all Believers” can possibly find expression. Protestants for years have been critical of other Christian traditions identifying them as being theologically institutional giving birth to hierarchical systems which create top-down priestly elite. Thus, people must be dependent on these leaders for their ability to contribute and grow. What I have experienced is that Protestants have created their own hierarchies with very controlling environments just different language. If ecclesiastical leadership are convinced that each person is “God’s workmanship” (Ephesians 2:10) than I agree with the author, David Marquet, that our goal should not simply be “empowerment” but instead “emancipation.” With emancipation we are recognizing the inherent genius, energy, and creativity in all people, and allowing those talents to emerge. It is with this understanding of emancipation that one comes to the sobering awareness, “That a leader realizes that they do not create the talents in people nor do they empower them to use their talents. But a leader understands that they do have the power to prevent the talents of the people they lead to come out.” The awareness that I as a leader can limit the giftedness and talents of others being expressed is enough for me to recommend that you read this book.
[1] L. David Marquet, Turn the Ship Around, p xxi.
[2] Dana Theus on October 22nd, 2012, [...]
[3] L. David Marquet, Turn the Ship Around, p xxii.
Marquet is convinced of hidden genius and ambition in every person, and of the leader’s responsibility to unlock those things. It’s good that he believed this, because when his commanding officer and mentor tasked him with turning around the struggling Santa Fe’s fortunes, he was told that replacing crew members with “better” ones was not the preferred approach. Like many middle managers, Marquet was forced to play the cards he was dealt. But a nuclear sub commander is not a middle manager.
A few of the many thought-provoking nuggets in this book that run counter to more “old-fashioned” ideas of running an organization:
- “We are in the middle of one of the most profound shifts in human history… from the Industrial Age of “control” to the Knowledge Worker Age of “release.”
- “You may be able to “buy” a person’s (physical labor) with a paycheck, position, power, or fear, but a human being’s genius, passion, loyalty, and tenacious creativity are volunteered only.”
- “Leadership is a choice, not a position.”
What distinguishes Marquet’s pithy, and perhaps far from unique insights are 1) the conceptual frameworks they’re hung on; and 2) the many concrete examples of how Marquet breathed new life into a crew, a ship, and many careers. Marquet talks about moving his own officers and crew from a “leader-follower” culture to “leader-leader.” His three C’s of building a great organization – Competence, Clarity, and Control, are woven across the chapters so readers can connect the dots easily between the three and see how they mutually support each other.
It’s possible that Marquet was a no less demanding leader aboard Santa Fe than any “old salt” who ever commanded a ship (or coached a team, or led a company). However, the things he demanded and his style in demanding them, underscored his desire to give every shipmate as many opportunities for leadership and responsibility as possible. In return, he expected a commitment to excellence.
“Turn the Ship Around!” speaks frankly of risks and fears. For any of us “Captains of Our Enterprise” to truly delegate authority as well as responsibility as far down our chains of command as possible may be difficult for anyone who is schooled in the leader-follower approach (many of us!) Turning your ship around Marquet’s way, may require sharing the glory with others when things turn out well, while still accepting the responsibility (and consequences) for your team’s failures. Marquet talks us through situations aboard Santa Fe when he was tempted to function as a more traditional leader, and situations when he caught himself “backsliding” away from the leader-leader model. He doesn’t portray himself as a superhuman, and maybe that’s why one comes away from the read realizing that we can actually do many of the things he did. A realization strong enough that we might decide on a few new approaches as we translate his stories from the submarine, to our own workplaces.
"Turn the Ship Around" also tells the story of how Marquet didn't want to be the same kind of captain that got Santa Fe into the state it was in. He wanted to enable his crew, from his officers to his chiefs to the lowest ranking enlisted on board to make their own decisions and own their own work. From small examples to big, he details how he would deliberately take steps back and let others lead instead of doing what people would normally expect a military leader to do.
It's a powerful book, with lessons that I'm already eager to apply in my work.













