Ship Happens

By Stacey C. Cunningham and Captain D. Michael Abrashoff

Captain Mike Abrashoff's mission on USS Benfold - Be battle ready.

He spent countless hours engaging, developing, and training his crew to be ready for action, knowing SHIP HAPPENS. Our job as leaders is to do the same.

In It's Your Ship, Captain Mike Abrashoff revea

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Aegis Performance Group, LLC
• Release date: Jan 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9798987602126

Stacey C. Cunningham

Stacey Cunningham is an execution-oriented leader, business consultant, strategist, executive, and health coach who works with leaders and organizations to show them HOW to drive transformation through people leading to tremendous results. Working with Fortune 500 organizations, Stacey has a knack for breaking down complex challenges and devising elegant and straightforward solutions to drive change.Stacey brings a unique vantage point on what it takes to be a leader today with a master's degree in educational psychology, nutrition, and several coaching certifications. Whether it's sharing Captain Mike Abrashoff's phenomenal story of transformational leadership or getting leaders to focus on how to engage their best and brightest, Stacey knows what it takes to sustain high performance levels in the face of increasing pressure, diversified teams, generational expectations, and rapid change.She works with cutting-edge organizations that have discovered the link between engagement, development, wellness, and leadership as the key to productivity and overall achievement. She facilitates keynotes, breakouts, and interactive and hands-on workshops, so you leave her sessions not only energized but with a viable Take Action plan to ensure you have a practical plan ready to implement immediately. As a result of her extensive work, Stacey has impacted the lives and careers of many professionals in leading organizations. Many of Stacey's clients have acknowledged her as a significant contributor to improving the levels of two-way communication, employee engagement/retention efforts, leadership effectiveness, and resiliency within their organizations.

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CONTENTS

AUTHOR’S NOTE

INTRODUCTION

When ship happens… TAKE ACTION

CHAPTER ONE

It’s time to… TAKE COMMAND

CHAPTER TWO

It’s time to… LEARN REAL LEADERSHIP

CHAPTER THREE

It’s time to… LEAD BY EXAMPLE

CHAPTER FOUR

It’s time to… LISTEN AGGRESSIVELY

CHAPTER FIVE

It’s time to… COMMUNICATE PURPOSE & MEANING

CHAPTER SIX

It’s time to… CREATE A CLIMATE OF TRUST

CHAPTER SEVEN

It’s time to… LOOK FOR RESULTS, NOT SALUTES

CHAPTER EIGHT

It’s time to… TAKE CALCULATED RISKS

CHAPTER NINE

It’s time to… GO BEYOND STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE

CHAPTER TEN

It’s time to… BUILD UP YOUR PEOPLE

CHAPTER ELEVEN

It’s time to… GENERATE UNITY

CHAPTER TWELVE

It’s time to… IMPROVE YOUR PEOPLE’S QUALITY OF LIFE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

LIFE AFTER BENFOLD

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Where do we go from here?

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

AUTHOR’S NOTE

It’s tough out there today, and no organization is immune to change. There are a lot of variables that many of us have no control over. It’s easy to feel like a victim and obsess over the uncontrollable aspects of our jobs and lives.

Ship Happens, even to the best of us.

Our advice to you is to forget about what you can’t control and obsess only over what you can influence, and Make Ship Happen!

The most important mentor in Mike’s life once told him before he took command of USS Benfold, Mike, no matter how hard you try, your ship is never going to be perfect. You are going to have disappointments every day. When disappointed in an outcome, don’t ever blame your shipmates first. Assume they want to do a great job. Look inward first and focus on the process.

You know what?

Eighty percent of the time, when Mike was disappointed in an outcome, there was something he could have done differently to improve the outcome. This mentor caused him to constantly challenge his processes to see if he couldn’t do things a little bit better. That intellectual curiosity and always striving to improve created a culture that thrived on change, embraced it, and implemented favorable terms. Nobody became a victim of change, and instead, together the crew made ship happen and led the change and forged a culture bound by excellence and ownership.

None of us have a crystal ball, and we can’t predict what your industry is going to look like five years from now or ten years from now. What we can tell you, with great certainty, is that if you don’t foster a culture that cultivates change and putting people first, your best days are behind you.

Change begins with your attitude and how you show up at work. Embrace it and stay safe. Fear it and lose control of your own destiny. It’s all up to you.

After all, IT’S YOUR SHIP!!!

- Stacey Cunningham & Mike Abrashoff

INTRODUCTION

When ship happens…

TAKE ACTION

Welcome to the Ship Happens Playbook! This book is the key to unlocking the secrets behind Captain Mike Abrashoff’s success in creating one of the greatest stories in transformational leadership.

One of the toughest parts of our professional lives isn’t the numbers or the technical side – it is the leadership side. None of us are born leaders, and we all need to continuously look for new ways to become even better, especially during these extraordinary times.

Do you know the one thing Mike wished he had when he took command of USS Benfold? He hoped someone would give him a playbook, so he knew what to say, what to do, and how to act to drive both his and his people’s performance.

After leaving the ship, Mike wanted to build a playbook for others. It wasn’t until he met his business partner, Stacey Cunningham, that his vision became a reality. Together, they analyzed the actions, attitudes, and behaviors that drove the transformation of USS Benfold and the crew. Stacey, an innovative and results-oriented leader in her own right, then created the tools and resources from both her and Mike’s experiences that are the engine that fuels this guide.

SHIP HAPPENS OVERVIEW

This playbook is based on Captain Mike Abrashoff’s Wall Street Journal bestselling book, It’s Your Ship. Through his book and this resource, Mike will share WHAT he did to turn USS Benfold into the best-performing ship in the Pacific Fleet. Stacey will then show you HOW to apply the same principles, tools, and tactics every day...no matter your rank, title, or role.

In Ship Happens, Mike and Stacey will help you take incremental steps toward change and make a lasting impact on your leadership, engagement, and performance.

Ship Happens correlates directly with Mike’s It’s Your Ship book and provides a series of tools and resources aligned with each chapter. We recommend spreading out your learning over time to get the most out of this experience. Here’s a formula we have used with great success.

Read or listen to the chapter of It’s Your Ship

Complete the corresponding chapter assignment in Ship Happens

Engage in a team or colleague discussion to share key concepts and applications

Meet with your leader or a mentor for additional coaching to drive accountability

HOW IT WORKS

This guide follows a simple structure for each chapter of It’s Your Ship. Each chapter contains actionable assignments, exercises, and resources for you to follow and apply to yourself and your organization.

Introduction

Each chapter begins with a brief introduction highlighting the importance of the key themes and messages from the chapter.

Deep Dive

Revisit quotes and themes from each chapter with thought-provoking questions. Uncover how your leadership style helps or hinders your ability to lead your crew effectively.

Below Deck

Hear never-before-heard stories and lessons that Mike shares highlighting experiences and takeaways from his time as commander of USS Benfold.

Take Action

Gain access to Mike and Stacey’s tools and tactics to drive phenomenal results. These Take Actions are clearly formatted and give specific instructions on how they can be applied on the job.

Boost

Take your learning experience one step further by partnering with others. Drive conversation, deeper learning, and sharing with your leader, peers, and team.

Make It Stick

Each Take Action and Boost contains tips to help sustain learning with tools and tactics to use in your everyday leadership. Use these activities as you embed key principles into your leadership style, not just for today but for life.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Who is Captain Mike Abrashoff?

At the age of 36, the Navy selected Mike to become commander of USS Benfold. At the time, the ship was plagued by low morale, high turnover, and abysmal performance. Few thought that the ship could improve – yet 12 months later, the ship was ranked #1 in performance – using the same