For almost 34 years, I have been in positions of management responsible for as few as 22 people and as many as 1,300.
My last assignment was with Con Edison, New York City's electric utility company, as an executive in charge of over 1,000 unionized employees overhauling electric generating station boilers, turbines and auxiliaries for fossil and nuclear stations. Prior to that, I was the Plant Manager of one of Con Edison's large fossil powered electric generating stations.
Before entering the civilian world, I was a career naval officer with 25 years of active duty, 20 of those years on surface combatant ships with five of those years as Captain, first commanding a destroyer escort and then a nuclear-powered cruiser called the USS South Carolina. The other 15 years were spent in positions where I directed the operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants including the building and launch of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, the first of its kind.
My final tour with the U.S. Navy was at the Pentagon where for 2 ½ years I directed or assisting in the direction of approximately $3.5 billion annually to research, develop, acquire and support combat weapons systems for all surface ships.
I graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and three years later attended a one year nuclear power training program consisting of 6 months of classroom study in mathematics, nuclear physics, chemistry and nuclear plant systems, followed by 6 months of practical qualification at a nuclear powered prototype plant. Years later, I gained a Masters degree in Computer Systems Management.
Beyond Things - People
Since entering the Naval Academy, it had always been my goal, to develop expertise in leading large numbers of people. To that end, I read every leadership and management book I could find and studied the history of human accomplishments, the actions taken and the reasons for them. I also studied the disciplines dealing with the inner characteristics of humans including sociology, psychology, psychiatry, the religions of the world and even how the human brain functions.
Through years of studying and practical experience, I was able to develop, test, modify and prove the efficacy of a superior set of tools for managing, or actually leading, people. This set of leadership tools enabled me to turn around four different “management” situations, each described as a disaster by the person hiring me for the job. One was the nuclear-powered cruiser I commanded where the crew was “wrecking the ship." Another was the 1,300 person large unionized group in New York City assessed as a lost cause. We ended up as the best ship in the fleet and with a rise in productivity per person by more than 300% over a four year period, respectively.
There was indeed trial and error with me making every mistake one can when managing people and many repeatedly, but I found solutions for my errors, stopped making any errors of importance and then trained my subordinate managers to do the same. My results were substantial and sustainable.
Finally, I am married to a woman who is a far better wife, partner, friend and counselor than any man could hope to have. We have two lovely daughters who have never failed to make us proud.
Read more of my story: How I acquired the leadership skills in my book.