MANAGEMENT LESSONS ON AN AIRCRAFT

CARRIER AT SEA
Published on November 30, 2009 in The Daly News
I thought everyone that reads my blog would be interested in the post below.
Subject: Top Ten Lessons from the USN: Management Lessons on an Aircraft Carrier at
Sea From the net.courtesy of CHINFO News Clips, by Guy Kawasaki, June 10
This is a guest post by Bill Reichert, my colleague at Garage Technology Ventures. He and I
recently joined other bloggers for an overnight trip on the USS Nimitz. The USS Nimitz is an
aircraft carrier thats named after Chester Nimitz (Nimitz signed the US/Japan surrender
terms that at the end of World War II). The Nimitz has a crew of approximately 3,000 men
and women. When an air wing is deployed on it, the total number of personnel becomes
5,000. It is part of Carrier Strike Group 11.
Very few people have the opportunity to experience life on a nuclear aircraft carrier up close
and personal. Recently, I had the extraordinary experience of spending a day and a night at
sea in the Pacific on board the USS Nimitz. I was part of a Navy outreach program to give
ordinary landlubbers like me a perspective on the mission and operations of a naval strike
group.
I was excited. Who would turn down a chance to get on top of a nuclear power plant driving
100,000 tons of steel through the ocean, with 5,000 men and women handling scores of
aircraft, carrying thousands of pounds of bombs and missiles, burning thousands of gallons
of jet fuel a day, with margins measured in inches, and tolerances of seconds?
What could possibly go wrong? As a Prius-driving, granola-eating, anti-gun, Left-Coast
Californian, I do not fit the stereotype of the typical armed forces booster. I am inclined to
favor green technology over weapons of mass destruction. But I discovered during my visit
that many of us who are working in non-military organizations, and who may not have given
a second thought to the Navy as a model, would do well to understand how a small city
floating on the ocean works. From startup entrepreneurs to seasoned executives, we can
learn a lot from the U.S. Navy, from the enlisted men and women as well as from the
commanding officers.

When we got to the Naval Air Station on Coronado Island in San Diego, we received a quick
slide presentation before we flew off to the Nimitz, a hundred miles or so off the coast. Then
again, when we met with the admiral on the ship that evening, we got another slide
presentation. There were five or six dot points on the power point slides outlining the
mission of the Navy, but frankly I cant remember them all. All I can remember is the
impression that, fundamentally, the mission of the U.S. Navy is to make the world safe. Its a
pretty ambitious objective. You may approve or disapprove of this as the best use of
taxpayer money, but if you spend any time on a nuclear aircraft carrier, you have to admit
they do a pretty impressive job.
During about thirty hours of immersion with sailors and pilots (and public affairs officers), I
realized that were several principles at work that make the Navy so successful-principles
that are not at all unique to running an aircraft carrier-representing important lessons for
everyone interested in entrepreneurship, innovation, teamwork, and management:
Inspiration: Having a big, meaningful goal is a tremendous force for inspiration, motivation,
and cohesion. The Navys mission is not some vague, abstract, feel-good paragraph in a
business plan; it is very concrete, and very easy to understand and internalize. In addition to
defending America, fighting terrorists, and rescuing victims of piracy, the Navy takes
enormous pride in their role in helping the tsunami victims in 2004, and in helping the
Katrina victims in 2005.
While everyone I talked with had his or her own particular story, everyone had a distinct and
powerful pride in what they had accomplished and in the people around them. It was frankly
astounding. Even in the best organizations, in my experience, such a core consistency of
pride is extremely rare. Of course, most organizations dont have a mission as inspirational
as the U.S. Navy.
Perspiration: If everyone buys into the goal, you can get an amazing amount of work done,
including regular sixteen hour days with very low pay. The Nimitz does not offer a 9-to-5
workday. Some days, crews are on the flight deck for fourteen or sixteen hours, into the wee
hours of the morning, inhaling noxious fumes and making sure every plane gets back safely.
And then after the planes get back at midnight, the maintenance crew is still at work making
sure the planes are ready for the next day. A maintenance chief told me that, given the age
of the planes and the stress of carrier flying, it is typical that a plane requires twenty-five
hours of maintenance for every hour of flight time. That seems inefficient, but the alternative

is unacceptable. You dont want to fly a plane that is anything less than 100 percent
maintained.
Teamwork: As much as the movie Top Gun created the impression that its about
competing to be Number 1, the ethic in an actual operating situation is intensely about team
performance. Watching the crews maintain, fuel, setup, and pilot F-18s for flight, its clear
its not about whos the hottest dog on the deck. Every single person counts on other
members of the team to enable them to get their part of the job done, and no one person
can take credit for success, or benefit from anothers failure.
Recruiting and training: There is a common misperception that the military attracts the
lower performers in our society who have no other choices. The Navy is very fortunate to
have more people who want to join than there are available slots. But more important, the
men and women who make it through training are astoundingly competent people. The
lesson here is that its not about fancy degrees and prior polish; its about a commitment to
excellence in each individual, and the willingness to work to exhaustion to make sure you
live up to your commitment.
Accountability and continuous improvement: There is no contradiction between an
intense ethic of teamwork and the need for individual accountability. In the Navy, everything
is monitored and measured.
Every system has to perform at 100 percent, and for every system there is a person
responsible for making sure that happens. Every cycle of take-offs and landings is
measured and scored. And every score is assessed to figure out a way to do it better.
During launch cycles, the drill is to get a plane catapulted off the deck every sixty seconds.
According to our hosts, during the training exercise we watched, the greatest variation off
that was fifteen seconds. Wouldnt it be cool if OHare could match that?
Respect: In the Navy, if you dont like someone because of their race, or creed, or
whatever, you have the opportunity to change your mind, because that person may be living
in the bunk fourteen inches away from you. Respect isnt just an altruistic ethic, its a
necessity.
More so than any other institution, the U.S. military has been successful at integrating
Americas young men and women. Im sure the Navy is not perfect in this regard, but when I
looked around the bridge and saw the incredibly diverse team of men and women who were
calmly, confidently, and competently running this multi-billion dollar acme of American
technological accomplishment, I thought why cant all of America be more like this? Actually,
most high tech companies are well integrated when it comes to race and creed (less so

gender), but when it comes to respect among individuals, most organizations have a lot to
learn.
Overcoming fear: On a busy aircraft carrier, there are a lot of things that happen that are
really scary, and people die. Despite the macho prototype of the Navy pilot, in private these
pilots admit that landing a jet on a moving carrier at night is a downright terrifying
experience. Watching a series of jets land at night, you get the impression that it must be
pretty easy, because they do it so well.
But it isnt easy, and even with years of practice and experience, its nerve-wracking. And
you do it, because its your responsibility and thats the only way the mission gets
accomplished.
Work/Life balance: Its hard to imagine how people in the military handle being away from
their families for months at a time, in environments that are almost entirely work. Its clear
that it is not easy for most. My impression is that the Navy tries to ease the strain by
creating a work environment that is much looser and more casual than we expected. We
thought the crew aboard the ship would be much more heavily starched than they were, and
that the interactions between subordinates and superiors would be much stiffer. We were
amazed at how relatively easygoing everyone was, considering that they were responsible
for one of the most massive concentrations of firepower on the planet. When you are on the
line, there is no slack, and there is no room for anything less than 100 percent. But when
there is a break in the action, you can relax and be human.
Reverence and irreverence: The week before our visit, the Nimitz lost five crew in a
helicopter accident. These were not strangers; these were co-workers and friends. Among
the pilots, it seems that everyone has at least one story of a good friend who was lost. For
these men and women, death is all too real. There are memorials around the ship to remind
everyone of those who have given their lives in the service of their country. At the same
time, there is an irreverence that pops up quite frequently, sometimes when you wouldnt
expect it. The captain, in welcoming us, referred to the aircraft carrier as being kind of like a
jail, except theres the possibility of drowning. Not exactly what you would expect to hear.
And the whole call sign culture-pilots with nicknames like Freak Show and Booger, to
make sure no one takes themselves too seriously and everyone appreciates that even the
best of the best are human.
One-hundred percent performance: From moment to moment, the operations on board a
nuclear aircraft carrier expose the crew to an extraordinary degree of danger. A simple
mistake can result in death, and much of what is being done on the ship and in the air is not
at all simple. But they make it look simple. We watched scores of planes take off and land

on a moving platform without a hitch. The key is training, training, training, and total focus
and dedication when you are on the line. The activity on the flight deck looks a little random
and pretty informal-no stiff spines or tight formations. But in the end, you realize youve
watched an amazingly choreographed ballet, with an underlying intelligence and efficiency
that comes from a lot of people working together to optimize the total performance of the
organization.
Those are my top ten lessons from the U.S. Navy. Some of my colleagues on the trip have
some additional perspectives to add. (You can see links to their travelogues below.) But all
of us discovered that we can learn a lot from the U.S. Navy.
Certainly the Navy is not perfect. As in any organization, there are egos and frustrations and
resentments. And people make mistakes, and bad things happen. Not everyone agrees with
every decision made up the chain of command, or back in Washington, DC. The Navy
understands that it is not well-served by squashing free thought, but everyone in the Navy
appreciates that there is a time and a place for debate, and the deal is that you are signed
up to do what the organization needs you to do once you are on the line.
Not every entrepreneur wants to model his or her organization and culture on the Navy. For
many entrepreneurs, indeed, that is a very unappealing concept, but thats because they
dont really understand what makes the Navy one of the most effective organizations on the
planet. Like any other successful organization, its about the people, not about the
technology. The key is harnessing the incredible potential of every individual through
inspiration, training, and teamwork.
Honor. Courage. Commitment. Not bad principles for any company.