Turn the Ship Around!
by L. David Marquet, Stephen R. Covey · first published 2001
72% recommend26% neutral1% critical
Why HN recommends it
True story of a Navy submarine captain who gave authority to the crew, with a practical idea of moving decisions to the information and coming with intent, not asking permission. Suits new managers and team leads.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Plug for David Marquet's book "Turn the Ship Around" about his time improving training / operations on a submarine he commanded. Every one had to announce their intention to do an action before actually doing it, this gave others the chance to identify…
on “Maybe today’s Navy is just not very good at driving ships” ↗They should get Captain Marquet of "Turn the Ship Around!" to go get them ship shape. The book has some really good lessons on how shifting leadership style and culture can produce dramatically better results.
on “Problems plagued U.S. Navy destroyer Fitzgerald before fatal collision” ↗Yes, good tip from "Turn the Ship Around" by David Marquet is to use the "I intend to" model. For every action you are going to undertake that is critical, first announce your intentions and give enough time for reactions from others before…
on “GitLab Database Incident – Live Report” ↗I really like question 12: > What might I put in place to allow me to go off the grid for 4 to 8 weeks, with no phone or email? This echoes a sentiment I recently read in Turn the Ship Around: managers are frequently recognised and praised for things that happen while they are actively leading a team. This sounds obvious, but it skews their leadership toward shorttermism. We should be better…
on “Questions that changed my life (2016)” ↗It's years since I read it but Gerald Weinberg's Becoming a Technical Leader. The best general book on leadership I've read for a while is Marquet's Turn the Ship Around – great also as an audiobook. I referenced the latter in my own Right to Left: The digital leader's guide to Lean and Agile (arguably a leadership book too)
on “Ask HN: Best book / resources on leadership, especially for tech teams?” ↗…two Navy Seal Officers and how they are applied in business. It learned me to take ownership on what is happening, always work together, keep it simple, focus on a single priority, and give ownership. Turn the ship around! by L. David Marquet This book tells the story of a submarine captain that turns his subordinates into leaders and his submarine goes on becoming the best submarine in the US Navy. It learned me to move…
on “Ask HN: Best book / resources on leadership, especially for tech teams?” ↗…just by our hardwired biases and the media. - Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl: Everyone goes through their highs and lows, this account will teach you how to stay put and proceed forward. - Turn the Ship Around by L. David Marquet: In a world where we are constantly trying to innovate, it is not possible without unlocking the true potential of the workforce. This is not possible without appropiate accountability…
on “Ask HN: What are some deep, mentality changing books?” ↗This is great and applies equally well as advice for managers (and especially executives) of how to work with their employees. For a more job-oriented set of similar advice, I highly recommend "Turn the Ship Around" by Capt David Marquet. The core premise of both of these is not letting responsibility gravitate by default to those in power above you. It prevents a mentality of "I just take orders" or "I just do…
on “Growing Independence” ↗…Skelton and Manuel Pais) * Empowered: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products (Marty Cagan) * The Phoenix Project (Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, George Spafford) General: * The Goal (Eliyahu Goldratt) * Turn the Ship Around! (L David Marquet) * Just Culture (Sidney Dekker) * Leadership on the Line (Ronald Heifetz, Marty Linsky) * Emotional Intelligence (Daniel Goleman)
on “A reading list for new engineering managers” ↗…Soft Skills: * How to win friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie * Secrets of Consulting - Gerald Weinberg * Peopleware - Tom DeMarco & Timothy Lister * Nurtured by Love - Shinici Suzuki * Turn the Ship Around! - David Marquet * Never Split the Difference - Chris Voss http://dhemery.com/articles/resistance_as_a_resource/ http://dhemery.com/articles/managing_yourself_through_change... Macro Skills: * Toyota…
on “Theory-building and why employee churn is lethal to software companies” ↗In case anyone is interested, I enjoyed the book "Turn the Ship Around!" by L. David Marquet, about management lessons applied by the author who was a US Navy submarine captain. It does very much emphasize giving trust, responsibility and accountability to workers (or enlisted…
on “Poor Deming never stood a chance” ↗"Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders". I am reading it now, very entertaining and you'll learn thing about management styles.
on “Ask HN: Book Recommendations?” ↗tl;dr Basecamp CEO recommends L Marquet's _Turn the Ship Around_ as an important management strategy. Namely, empower team members to approach leaders with an intent, rather than requesting permission.
on “If you ask for my permission, you won’t have my permission” ↗I give these three books out to new managers in my org: * High Output Management by Andy Grove https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679762884/ * Turn the Ship Around by David Marquet https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591846404/ * The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591843472/ For interns I give out these two books: *…
on “Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?” ↗…are valuablein any case! Your comment about “how people function in... a company” is key, however. That’s why I talk about building a leader-leader organisation of the kind David Marquet describes in “Turn the Ship Around”. As you say, you can’t just rely on getting the right people round the table or having charismatic individuals who are “good people people”. You have to build resilience into the organisational structures…
on “In praise of SWARMing” ↗