"Captain, I intend to submerge this ship!"

Can you imagine Burt Lancaster saying that to Clark Gable in Run Silent Run Deep? Or perhaps Sam Neill declaring that intention to Sean Connery in The Hunt for Red October? That is not the image of a submarine commander Hollywood has instilled in us, and it is not our perception of how military commands work.

In taking command of a submarine with which he was unfamiliar, David Marquet came to the uncomfortable recognition that leading as what Bill Joiner would call an Expert Leader could endanger the command. Instead he rewrote the book on naval leadership and gave control to his officers and crew, and in the process turned one of the lowest performing crews into one of the best. His account in Turn The Ship Around! is a pragmatic retelling of what he did, what worked, what didn't. From deliberate action to eliminating top-down monitoring systems, Marquet gives us the step-by-step mechanics he used to turn followers into leaders. It is a great guide to use in turning our own ships around.