16 Quotes by D. Michael Abrashoff

Sometimes things go right by accident, and you are left with the dangerous illusion that it was your doing.

Show me an organization in which employees take ownership, and I will show you one that beats its competitors.

The key to being a successful skipper is to see the ship through the eyes of the crew.

Articulating the feelings that your people are afraid to speak is a large part of what leaders, including ship captains, do for a living.

Leaders need to understand how profoundly they affect people, how their optimism and pessimism are equally infectious, how directly they set the tone and spirit of everyone around them.

The key to being a successful skipper is to see the ship through the eyes of the crew. Only then can you find out what’s really wrong and, in so doing, help the sailors empower themselves to fix it.

I found that the more people knew what the goals were, the better buy-in I got – and the better results we achieved together.

Innovation and progress are achieved only by those who venture beyond standard operating procedure.

As a manager, the one signal you need to steadily send to your people is how important they are to you. In fact, nothing is more important to you. Realize your influence, and use it wisely. Be there for your people. Find out who they are. Recognize the effects you have on them and how you can make them grow taller.