Mike Abrashoff was the most-junior officer in the Pacific Fleet when he took command of the near-worst performing ship. Twelve months later, the USS\u00a0Benfold\u00a0was the best ship in the entire Navy \u2013 using the same crew. The story of that stunning transformation has lessons for every organization: leadership matters \u2013 and culture is everything. Mike\u2019s written three books \u2013 his first,\u00a0It\u2019s Your Ship, has sold over 1 million copies. His Leadership Roadmap offers clear, battle-tested, and actionable steps. Mike shows people at every level of the organization how to engage and take incremental steps toward change that can make a dramatic difference at work. Mike is clear, \u201cI didn\u2019t turn the ship around \u2013 my crew did that. What I did was to create an environment where they felt safe, empowered and supported. When you do that, anything is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
In many ways, what Mike was able to do with the USSBenfoldwas an extreme example of the same problems facing many organizations today. That\u2019s why dozens of publications including The Wall Street Journal,Harvard Business Review, and Fast Companyhave cited Mike\u2019s story as an inspiring lesson for business. Leaders especially identify with Mike\u2019s being accountable for the results in an environment where he couldn\u2019t make the rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen my crew came to me with a problem, I\u2019d say \u2018It\u2019s yourship \u2013how would you fix it?\u2019.\u201d Mike focused on the one thing he couldinfluence: his crew\u2019s attitude, because culture is the ultimate competitive weapon for any organization.<\/p>\n
Mike\u2019s established a set of management principles that he calls The Leadership Roadmap. At the core of his leadership approach on Benfoldwas a process of replacing command and control with commitment and cohesion, and engaging the hearts, minds, and loyalties of workers with conviction and humility. \u201cThe most important thing that a captaincan do is to see the ship through the eyes of the crew. The idea is to empower every individual to share the responsibility of achieving excellence.\u201d<\/p>\n
By every measure, these principles achieved breakthrough results: turnover decreased to an unprecedented 1%; the rate of promotions tripled; and the crew slashed operating expenses by 25%. Regarded as the finest ship in the Pacific Fleet, Benfoldwon the prestigious Spokane Trophy for having the highest degree of combat readiness. This remarkable turnaroundwas accomplished by the very same crew that had performed so poorly just months before.<\/p>\n
Mike is author of three books. His first, It\u2019s Your Ship, has a timeless message: don\u2019t use outside forces that stand in your way as excuses \u2013control the things you caninfluence and amazing results will happen. His next books, It\u2019s Our Ship and Get Your Ship Together, showed how these principles have been put into action by business leaders in their own organizations.<\/p>\n
A popular keynote speaker for audiences looking to ramp up organizational performance, Mike has spoken to every industry and kind of audience \u2013from board retreats to front line personnel; from sales groups to universities; from Fortune 500s to startups. He inspires audiences to rethink their beliefs about leadership and organizational culture and tailors the message to focus on engagement, execution, change, safety, diversity, leadership, teamwork, innovation, accountability and more.Prior to commanding USS Benfold, Mike served as the Military Assistant to Secretary of Defense William J. Perry. He also helped draft the air defense plan for naval forces in the Persian Gulf in 1990, coinciding with Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait; and served as the executive officer of the Cruiser Shiloh, where he deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of United Nations sanctions against Iraq.<\/p>\n
Mike Abrashoff is the founder of Aegis Performance Group, a consulting firm which works with and supports leaders as they address leadership, talent and performance challenges within their organizations. Mike and his team prompt leaders at all levels to re-imagine their leadership thinking and create new ways to elevate individual, team and organizational performance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mike Abrashoff was the most-junior officer in the Pacific Fleet when he took command of the near-worst performing ship. Twelve months later, the USS\u00a0Benfold\u00a0was the best ship in the entire Navy \u2013 using the same crew. The story of that stunning transformation has lessons for every organization: leadership matters \u2013 and culture is everything. Mike\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":74004,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_trash_the_other_posts":false,"editor_notices":[]},"sa_speaker_category":[137,138,37,158,164,88],"sa_language":[250],"sa_employability":[188],"class_list":["post-79015","sa_speaker","type-sa_speaker","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","sa_speaker_category-arts-culture-lifestyle","sa_speaker_category-governance-management","sa_speaker_category-leadership-strategy","sa_speaker_category-lifestyle","sa_speaker_category-organizational-culture","sa_speaker_category-personal-leadership"],"acf":{"sa_introduction":"Mike Abrashoff was the most-junior officer in the Pacific Fleet when he took command of the near-worst performing ship. The story of that stunning transformation has lessons for every organization: leadership matters \u2013 and culture is everything.","sa_one_liner":"Former Commander | USS Benfold and Author | It\u2019s Your Ship","sa_name_title":"","sa_region":[],"sa_degree":"","sa_stars":"","sa_maglr_ids":null,"sa_publications":null,"sa_socials":null,"sa_subjects":[{"sa_subjects_title":"It's your ship - Achieving breakthrough performance","sa_subjects_information":"When Mike Abrashoff took command of the USS\u00a0Benfold<\/i>, morale was low, turnover was high and the ship\u2019s performance ranked near the bottom of the Pacific Fleet. Just twelve months later\u00a0Benfold<\/i>\u00a0was ranked #1 \u2013 using the very same crew. The lesson was clear \u2013 leadership matters and culture is everything. This inspiring talk is for every individual and organization looking for practical and usable ways to take organizational performance to new heights. In Mike\u2019s case, he realized that before the ship\u2019s performance could change, he had to change his leadership style. Mike worked to create a culture of trust and empower his crew to take charge and use ingenuity and initiative to improve every aspect of the way things were done. Top down leadership is dead, so when the crew would present a problem, Mike became famous for responding \u201cWhat would YOU do? It\u2019s YOUR ship!\u201d Mike\u2019s presentation leaves audiences with the tools and inspiration to accomplish big goals."},{"sa_subjects_title":"The virtual leader's roadmap","sa_subjects_information":"Mike Abrashoff had to change his leadership mindset when he took over the near-worst performing ship in the Navy. The situation was dire. If performance did not improve, sailors could have gotten injured\u2026or worse. In response, Mike quickly adopted a new set of principles to guide a new way of leading. His focus was on building trust and authentic ways of engaging. It was about listening to and empowering his crew who then went on to make the USS\u00a0Benfold<\/i>\u00a0the best ship in the entire U.S. Navy. These very same principles are the foundation of success for organizations that embrace working virtually. In the short term, many organizations have found virtual work arrangements actually increase effectiveness of employees. That effectiveness may not be sustainable if leaders and organizations don\u2019t master a new skill-set of how to lead people they can\u2019t see. It\u2019s about measuring results \u2013 not activity; and about finding ways to let people know their efforts are appreciated. Those who succeed in leading in the virtual environment will create a decisive competitive advantage."},{"sa_subjects_title":"No Limits - Don't let goals become limitations","sa_subjects_information":"Sometimes in our professional lives we might\u00a0think<\/i>\u00a0we are in a battle to beat an adversary or a competitor when in actuality we are really in competition with ourselves but just haven\u2019t figured it out yet. When battling the competition, you want to come out on top, if only by one more sale or maybe a few percentage points. Other times, someone at a higher level gives you a goal based on some median expectation set for others. When Mike Abrashoff took command of a well below-average ship in the U.S. Navy, his goal was to get to average. He initially set average goals and expectations for himself and his crew until one day it dawned on him: his ship could be much better than just average. It was Mike\u2019s eureka moment: realizing they weren\u2019t in competition with anyone but themselves. To be their best they had to stop putting limits on what they believed was possible. That realization changed Mike Abrashoff\u2019s approach to leadership and led the same crew to accomplish one of the most remarkable turnarounds that was chronicled in the\u00a0Harvard Business Review<\/i>\u00a0,\u00a0Fast Company<\/i>\u00a0magazine and Mike\u2019s\u00a0New York Times\u2019<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0Wall Street Journal<\/i>\u00a0bestselling book,\u00a0IT\u2019S YOUR SHIP<\/i>. This presentation will challenge audiences to think differently on how to set expectations while realizing the only limits that you have are self-imposed."},{"sa_subjects_title":"Go deeper with half-day and full-day programs","sa_subjects_information":"Dive deep into the Leadership Roadmap with a half-day or full-day program. The sessions are most often used as a follow-on to Mike\u2019s keynote and provide attendees with powerful tools and strategies to apply in their work environment. Depending on the circumstances, these longer sessions are facilitated by a senior strategist from Mike\u2019s firm, Aegis Performance Group, or Mike himself. These sessions create an exciting interactive atmosphere where participants examine the key components of high performing leaders, teams and organizations. Inquire for more details and program descriptions."}],"sa_faq_items":null,"sa_minimum_price":"","sa_maximum_price":"","sa_banner_image_id":78950,"sa_videos":[{"sa_video_title":"","sa_video_embed":"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/173087101"},{"sa_video_title":"","sa_video_embed":"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/467502164"},{"sa_video_title":"","sa_video_embed":"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/383122682"},{"sa_video_title":"","sa_video_embed":"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/182098463"}]},"yoast_head":"\n