When You Change The Environment

David Marquet became the captain of the USS Santa Fe, a submarine that gained a reputation for being the worst-performing vessel in the Navy's history. This was a challenging responsibility, especially since Marquet had been initially chosen to command the USS Olympia, a state-of-the-art nuclear-powered attack submarine. He had dedicated over a year to studying its systems and operations. 

Upon taking command of the Santa Fe, Marquet found himself in unfamiliar territory, as he had limited knowledge about this particular submarine and its crew dynamics. During a routine training exercise to simulate a reactor failure, Captain Marquet confidently issued the command, "Ahead two-thirds," intending to assess the crew's readiness and response. In a demonstration of adherence to protocol, the officer on deck promptly repeated the order, saying, "Ahead two-thirds."

Nothing happened.

Captain Marquet noticed the helmsman looking very unsettled. Marquet asked, "What's the problem," the helmsman pointed out that there were no two-thirds in the electric propulsion mode, unlike all his previous submarines. The officer was asked, "Did you know there were no two-thirds," the officer responded, "Yes," but repeated the command, knowing it was wrong.

Now, Captain Marquet did not have the luxury of changing his crew, unlike what typically takes place in most business organizations. Instead, Captain Marquet realized that the leader-follower environment his team had grown accustomed to failed, and if he had any chance to turn around the performance of this sub, the environment must change. 

Marquet began treating his crew as leaders, giving control, not taking control; he changed the environment. Not long after, the Santa Fe went from the worst performing submarine in the Navy to the best navel sub in the history of the Navy. As leaders, when you get the environment right, great things can happen because it's never the people; it's the environment, and as the leader, you have the responsibility to ensure you create a place your people love to come to. 

When a company's fundamentals are in place (purpose, vision, and values) and everyone is singing from the same hymnbook with the leader leading by example, your organization will find its pulse of existence to become one of the best in the world. David Marquet transformed his underperforming sub into a world-class entity because he understood that it's never the people; it's the environment.

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