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Damn the Torpedoes!: Applying the Navy´s Leadership Principles to Business
Fraser P. Alexander
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Description for Damn the Torpedoes!: Applying the Navy´s Leadership Principles to Business
Paperback. Num Pages: 112 pages, 10 black & white photographs. BIC Classification: JWF; KJMB. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational. Dimension: 205 x 128 x 13. Weight in Grams: 142.
Captain Fraser learned most every leadership trait he needed to know as a ship captain and as a senior business executive in the first sixty seconds of his induction into the United States Naval Academy. Those sixty seconds taught the leadership traits that were evident in Admiral David Farragut's infamous order: Damn the Torpedoes! Full Speed Ahead! when his attack at Mobile Bay was in danger of failing. Those sixty seconds also taught the leadership basics that were evident in Admiral Chester Nimitz when he ordered the Pacific Fleet to meet the ... Read moreJapanese at the Battle of Midway. Those sixty seconds can also teach business leaders how to lead. Damn the Torpedoes! is a book about how those same sixty seconds taught Captain Fraser how to have more successful military and business careers. When then Midshipman Fraser answered a question about his laundry number by saying: I don't know, he learned during the ensuing push-ups that there are only four answers to a question or order: No excuse, sir, I'll find out, sir, yes or no, sir, and aye-aye, sir. Those four answers teach the four basic traits of leadership: accountability, thinking ahead, ethics, and motivation. Damn the Torpedoes!, through personal and historical stories, shows how those four traits embedded in a sea captain can be used by business and organizational leaders to make their own careers and companies more successful. Examples from the author's dual career experiences, the Battle of Mobile Bay, the Battle of Midway, the Battle of Cape St. George, Desert Shield/Storm, Enron, Tylenol, CNN, Intuit, and Airbnb all show how the four leadership traits are key both afloat and ashore. The book is a unique look at business leadership from a very different perspective than those taken by other books on leadership. It is a book about leadership lessons learned by ship captains over the centuries that can be applied to business. Damn the Torpedoes! is also unique in that the author has had two careers: one as Navy ship captain and the second as president of one of the divisions of Turner Broadcasting. He is qualified to speak authoritatively from experience on those leadership traits of sea captains that can be successfully used by organizational leaders ashore. Show Less
Product Details
Publisher
Naval Institute Press
Place of Publication
Annopolis, United States
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 5 to 9 working days
About Fraser P. Alexander
Captain Alec Fraser is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He has had two unique careers: he commanded two Navy missile ships and was later the president of a division of Turner Broadcasting. He was also an on-air military analyst for CNN and was a guest on the Larry King Show. While he was in command of the USS ... Read moreCape St. George (CG 71), the ship earned the USS Arizona Memorial Trophy for being the most combat ready ship in the fleet. Show Less
Reviews for Damn the Torpedoes!: Applying the Navy´s Leadership Principles to Business
Through historical and personal stories, a former ship captain and Turner Broadcasting executive shows how four leadership principles in the midst of a raging sea battle are much the same as the leadership principles in a competitive business environment. If you want to know what it takes to be a successful leader, have a successful career, or make a business ... Read morehighly successful, read this book.
Roger Staubach, Executive Chairman, Jones Lang LaSalle Americas The leadership lessons that Alec Fraser learned during his outstanding U.S. Navy career served him well as an excellent senior corporate executive and as a highly respected CNN military analyst. As different as are the roles of ship captain and corporate leader, Alec Fraser believes Navy training is wonderful preparation for successful corporate careers. His book is superb.
Tom Johnson, former CEO, CNN & former publisher, Los Angeles Times Fraser possesses the sort of leadership skills that are crucial in the business world. During his tenure at Turner Broadcasting, it was Fraser's strong ability to lead that garnered him great respect from his colleagues and earned my confidence. It is my belief that serving as a captain in the U.S. Navy helped to instill in him a real sense of responsibility and discipline, both of which were essential in his success as a senior advisor in our company. Damn the Torpedoes! is a unique and insightful book on leadership.
Ted Turner, CNN founder and chairman, Turner Enterprises Fraser's first sixty seconds in the crucible of his plebe summer at the United State Naval Academy proved that successful leadership can be learned. He quickly mastered the only four acceptable answers to any question a boss might ask. Embedded in those answers are critical principles of effective leadership. Damn the Torpedoes distills the essence of what great leaders know about accountability in the stress of war or in the demands of the marketplace
Fraser succeeded masterfully in both worlds. Anyone who aspires to influence others must read this book of amazing stories full of lessons learned.
Dr. Tim Irwin, speaker and author of New York Times best seller, Impact, Great Leadership Changes Everything This book of leadership lessons is authentic, timely, cleanly written, and deeply relevant to the business community today, something missing from so many books in this genre.
Adm. James Stavridis, USN (Ret.), PhD, Dean, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, and former Supreme Allied Commander at NATO Captain Fraser has served as guest speaker on leadership to my 4th-year engineering students on several occasions. This book is faithful and true to the lessons he imparts to these young people aspiring to prosper in a world filled with ambiguity. They are always appreciative to learn the key role of leadership in finding success out of chaos in a complex world.
Professor Bill Todd, Scheller College of Business at the George Institute of Technology Leave it to a ship captain to know how to convey so much in a concise, insightful, useful and captivating book. I want my associates, and my children, to read Damn the Torpedoes!
Dave Stockert, President & CEO, Post Properties, Inc. Show Less
