Abrashoff starts the introduction by mentioning that beginning in 1997, he commanded the USS Benfold for 20 months. He describes the ship itself, a guided missile destroyer, and its capabilities at sea. While technology is ever-increasing, it is the people in the military who provide the “fighting edge” (1). Abrashoff outlines some of the recruitment and retention problems that the US Navy had when he wrote the book and asserts that the US taxpayer should be getting more for its $325 billion investment.

When Abrashoff took over command of the ship, it had been experiencing low morale, which he attributes to poor leadership. He scales this out and contends that poor leadership in the Navy is like poor leadership anywhere else in the corporate world. Abrashoff contends that getting the most out of a crew of employees depends on three variables: “the leader’s needs, the organization’s atmosphere, and the crew’s potential competence” (3) and argues that poor leadership tends to mismatch these variables.

Abrashoff switches gears and alludes to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the US. He argues that these attacks created a new sense of urgency for good leadership in all sectors. He discusses the idea that leadership is a skill that can be learned, and real leadership is not simply a designation of title.