The Sanford Berenberg Experience: Message of the Day

Good Morning,

I have read many books, earlier this year I surpassed 500. Many of these books are in one way or another about leadership and or leaders. If I were to guess, it would be some 100 books relating to leadership. At this point some of the leadership books I read are not very memorable, that is, it’s something I have read before, in some cases, many times. Due to this I have tried to change my search for new leadership books to be more focused on the lives of leaders and accomplishments of organizations.

My current read is by author Donald T. Phillips, with Adm. James M. Loy, USCG (Ret.), who also wrote a wonderful book called “Lincoln on Leadership”. I have also read Mr. Phillip’s book, ‘Founding Fathers on Leadership” which also help spark my interest in our founding fathers. In internet searches I found another book by the same author called “Character in Action: The U.S. Coast Guard on Leadership” (http://www.amazon.com/Character-Action-Coast-Guard-Leadership/dp/1591146720). The title intrigued me and I put it on my wishlist on Amazon. Thanks to an early Christmas present from my buddy Kiwi, I ordered it and five other books off my wishlist (I love buying used books with Amazon Prime!).

So I started diving into Character in Action and was grabbed from the get go. If reading this book does anything for you, it will give you a new profound respect for the U.S. Coast Guard. The book ties together leadership lessons with real life stories of Coast Guard operations to give more depth to each lesson.

One of the most compelling factor I found in the book is the Coast Guard’s bias toward action. The USCG trains their people not so much for possible situations, rather they train for what they do on a daily basis. They are a small organization with a smaller budget and have had to do a lot with a little and have found what works and keeps the entire organization moving.

So how does an organization which is more likely to act than not, which has less resources than many would consider necessary have so many successes?

They train their ranks to think for themselves. No so much what to think, but rather to review a situation, weigh the outcomes and make a decision. They push the decision making down to the front lines. So much so, the top brass focus their efforts on supporting their field commanders, not the other way around.

The organization partners with anyone and everyone who can help them. In these partnerships, the USCG takes the back seat and often does not get credit for successful operations. They are more concerned with the success than the credit. Due to these longstanding and strong relationships, in times of need, their friends and allies are almost always there to help out.

The USCG gets their new members into the field as soon as possible and has them doing important work immediately. They also share the importance of the work so that everyone knows what is at stake. They help provide guidance along the way to ensure both successful performance of duties and the continual growth of their staff.

I could go on and on, but I must tell you that this leadership book is one of the best I have ever read. Being a fan of Alexander Hamilton does not hurt either. If you were not aware, he created the precursor to the coast guard, called the Revenue Marines, in 1790. There is a lot of tradition in the USCG and this book shows it loud and clear.

The Coast Guard have a great model on leadership, and I hope to bring some of it to my company and organizations I work with.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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