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MICHAEL ABRASHOFF Former Navy Commander USS Benfold, Author of It’s Your Ship

Hire and Book MIKE ABRASHOFF as a Keynote Speaker for Your Events!

Mike Abrashoff is at the center of one of the most remarkable modern day stories of organizational transformation. 

At 36, he was selected to be Commander of USS Benfold and was the most junior commanding officer in the Pacific fleet. The challenges of this underachieving destroyer were staggering, with low morale and the highest turnover rate in the Navy. Few thought the ship could improve. Yet 12 months later it was ranked #1 in performance — using the same crew. How did Mike do it? By replacing command and control leadership with commitment and cohesion. The lesson was clear:  Leadership matters and culture is everything.

Since leaving the Navy, Mike has worked with over 1,200 organizations instilling leadership initiatives at every level – achieving phenomenal change in unexpected places. Leaders especially identify with Mike being accountable for results in an environment where he couldn’t make the rules. He focused on the one thing he could influence: his crew’s attitude, because culture is the ultimate competitive weapon for any organization. That’s why Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, and others have cited Mike’s story. It’s also why Mike is so popular with such a wide range of audiences.

As a keynote speaker, Mike has spoken to every industry and every kind of audience – from board retreats to front line personnel, from sales groups to universities, from Fortune 500s to startups. He tailors his message to focus on engagement, execution, change, safety, diversity, leadership, teamwork, innovation, accountability and more.

Mike Abrashoff the Former Commander of the USS Benfold and author says in It’s Our Ship “You can tell people what to do, but you can’t order excellence.”

Mike’s written three books his first, It’s Your Ship, has sold over 1 million copies. Mike’s also written It’s Our Ship, and Get Your Ship Together. His Leadership Roadmap offers clear, battle tested, and actionable steps. Mike shows people at every level of the organization how to engage and take incremental steps toward change that can make a dramatic difference at work.

Mike is clear, “I didn’t turn the ship around, my crew did that. What I did was to create an environment where they felt safe, empowered and supported. When you do that, anything is possible.” 

IT’S YOUR SHIP

This inspiring talk is for every individual and organization looking for practical and usable ways to take organizational performance to new heights. In Mike’s case, he realized that before the ship’s performance could change, he had to change his leadership style. Mike worked to create a culture of trust and empower his crew to take charge and use ingenuity and initiative to improve every aspect of the way things were done. Top down leadership is dead, so when the crew would present a problem, Mike became famous for responding “What would YOU do? It’s YOUR ship!” Mike’s presentation leaves audiences with the tools and inspiration to accomplish big goals.

NO LIMITS, UNLEASHING BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE

Sometimes in our professional lives we might think we are in a battle to beat an adversary or a competitor when we are really in competition with ourselves, but just haven’t figured it out yet. When battling the competition, you want to come out on top, if only by one more sale or maybe a few percentage points. Other times, someone at a higher level gives you a goal based on some median expectation set for others. When Mike Abrashoff took command of a well below average ship in the U.S. Navy, his goal was to get to average. He initially set average goals and expectations for himself and his crew until one day it dawned on him: his ship could be much better than just average. It was Mike’s eureka moment: realizing they weren’t in competition with anyone but themselves. To be their best they had to stop putting limits on what they believed was possible. That realization changed Michael Abrashoff‘s approach to leadership and led the same crew to accomplish one of the most remarkable turnarounds that was chronicled in the Harvard Business Review, Fast Company magazine and Mike’s New York Times’and Wall Street Journal bestselling book, IT’S YOUR SHIP.

This presentation will challenge audiences to think differently on how to set expectations while realizing the only limits that you have are self-imposed.

Dive deep into the Leadership Roadmap with a half day or full day program. The sessions are most often used as a follow-on to Mike’s keynote and provide attendees with powerful tools and strategies to apply in their work environment. Depending on the circumstances, these longer sessions are facilitated by a senior strategist from Mike’s firm, Aegis Performance Group, or Mike himself. These sessions create an exciting interactive atmosphere where participants examine the key components of high performing leaders, teams and organizations. Inquire for more details and program descriptions.

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Having helped hundreds of clients, we’re your best speakers agent for hiring and booking leadership and teamwork speaker Mike Abrashoff. We can help you book or hire any guest speakers in addition to those you see here on our site. So call us at 888-655-4575 now and we’ll be happy to help you with planning and producing your event! We are not the exclusive speakers agency of any public keynote speakers on this site, but we’re the best.

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