It's Your Ship

These are simulated naval battle exercises that are evaluated by a committee of higher-ups. One of the measures Abrashoff uses to illustrate how much the Benfold changes under his leadership is how well it performs in these exercises. Prior to Abrashoff’s arrival as captain, the ship routinely performed poorly in these exercises. After he assumed command, the ship routinely excelled and broke many performance records, in the process becoming a trusted asset in actual confrontations.

This is a practice in which a leader becomes too involved in all operations within an organization. Abrashoff argues that people who are top-performers in a particular field, if they do not learn how to become effective leaders, generally micromanage because they expect things to be done the exact way they would do them. Micromanagers make for ineffective leaders because the crew or employees do not feel valued, trusted, or as though they have any degree of autonomy within the organization.

Abrashoff does not refer directly to operant conditioning, or positive reinforcement, in the book, though this concept is a fundamental concept of BF Skinner’s psychological theory. Abrashoff insists that praise is a far more effective motivation tool than fear and argues that effective organizations know how to appropriately use praise to motivate rather than placate their employees.