Where to Start with L. David Marquet
L. David Marquet is a retired United States Navy captain, leadership consultant, and author. A top graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he commanded the nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine USS Santa Fe from 1999 to 2001, transforming it from the worst-performing submarine in the fleet to the best. The turnaround was driven by his development of what he calls “intent-based leadership,” a model that pushes decision-making authority to the people closest to the information rather than concentrating it at the top. His experience on the Santa Fe became the basis for Turn the Ship Around!, which Fortune magazine called “the best how-to manual anywhere for managers on delegating, training, and driving flawless execution.” Stephen R. Covey described the Santa Fe as the most empowering organization he had ever seen. Marquet has since written Leadership Is Language and the companion workbook, and speaks internationally on leadership and organizational design.
Start here
Turn the Ship Around!
L. David Marquet · 272 pages · 2013 · Easy
Themes: leadership, intent-based leadership, empowerment, organizational culture, decision-making
The book that made Marquet’s name and established intent-based leadership as a widely adopted model. He tells the story of taking command of the USS Santa Fe, discovering that the crew was trained to follow orders rather than think, and systematically pushing authority downward until every sailor operated as a leader responsible for their own decisions.
Why Start Here
Turn the Ship Around is both Marquet’s most important book and his most compelling. The narrative structure, built around a real submarine crew in high-stakes situations, keeps the lessons grounded in experience rather than theory. Later works like Leadership Is Language and the workbook build on concepts introduced here, so starting anywhere else means missing the foundation.
What to Expect
A 272-page narrative that reads like a well-paced memoir. Each chapter covers a specific period or challenge during Marquet’s command of the Santa Fe, with the leadership principle clearly articulated. The tone is honest and self-aware. Marquet does not shy away from describing his own mistakes, which makes the successes more credible. Practical questions at the end of each chapter help you apply the ideas to your own context.