This book changed my life. In fact, it has created the life I’ve led since giving up command of my ship, USS Benfold—the once-underperforming destroyer that my crew and I transformed into the best ship in the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet.
I’ll be forever grateful that It’s Your Ship has touched so many others’ lives as well. It won a place on a couple business best-seller lists, but more important, it has been quietly jumping off bookstore shelves for nearly ten years. All told, it has sold hundreds of thousands of copies.
Leaving the Navy was a tough decision. When I had to give up Benfold after my two-year rotation in command, I could have had a safe, comfortable career, working to become an admiral. But I had already spent time in the Pentagon, as military aide to Defense Secretary William Perry, the finest leader I’ve ever known. I knew no other Washington experience could top that, and I had to find something else to do with the rest of my life.
I had a modest ambition: to share my Benfold experience and to help others become better leaders. I found that I had a knack for public speaking, and that led to a career on the lecture circuit and then to the writing of It’s Your Ship. The book and the speaking engagements reinforced each other. I thought the book and my speaking career might have a shelf life of two or three years, but leadership development is a crucial field these days, and it has become my life. I’ve continued to speak and write, and I’m also consulting with a variety of organizations on executive leadership.
I’ve learned a lot since my years on Benfold. If I could do that job over again, I would take a more 360-degree view of the world. My biggest mistake was to focus down the chain of command, trying to improve my ship and my crew, instead of seeing myself as one captain in a battle group. I didn’t do enough to collaborate with my fellow captains as a member of a larger team. Instead, Benfold’s achievements stood on their own, and as a result the battle group wasn’t as strong as it could and should have been.
I’ve also learned that my message has become even more important as times have changed. What I’m preaching is the leveraging of human capital—and that’s what makes companies creative and innovative—which is the only way to be safe in tough economic times. So my story continues to resonate.
It’s my hope that this new edition, with an added chapter on my time with Secretary Perry (see chapter two) and a few new thoughts on the lessons I’ve learned since the Navy, will reach even more people and be even more helpful to aspiring leaders. I’m not unique; if I could learn to lead, so can you. Who knows? This book could change your life, too.
D. Michael Abrashoff
January 2012