I'm nearly done reading Theodore Rockwell's "The Rickover Effect," which has already prompted two blog posts here this month.
I'm increasingly struck by how hard he drove his people to become better, well-rounded people who had enough information in their heads thanks to his efforts and their own efforts to learn that they excelled at their jobs, making his work as a manager that much easier.
Part of my interest is selfish -- Michelle recently applied for a job as an administrative assistant at the Naval Reactors Facility. I'm hoping she gets the job, particularly as she spoke about the interview and the questions asked, many which I regard as evidence that the Rickover Effect is still there at NRF. I find that telling.
While I don't know what the outcome of this interview will be, I'm hopeful she gets the job. In that event, I think she should read this book just to get a bit of background, so I'm trying to finish my read of it as soon as possible so I can pass it on to her.
I thought for this post I'd collect some of the interesting things I've marked in this book, beyond what I've already shared. Most of what I share here are quotes from Admiral Rickover.
From page 85 (quote):
One must create the ability in his staff to generate clear, forceful arguments for opposting viewpoints as well as for their own. Open discussions and diagreements must be encouraged, so that all sides of an issue will be fully explored. Further, important issues should be presented in writing. Nothing so sharpens the thought process as writing down one's arguments. Weaknesses overlooked in oral discussion become painfully obvious on the written page.
From page 127 (book text):
The point about the inescapability of responsibility was basic Rickover dogma, and he never missed an opportunity to drive it home. He circulated copies of John Grier Hibben's "Essay on Responsibility" to all the staff and expectd them to read it and learn from it. Circulation of reading material had become an important training technique, and the variety of materials he circulated was bewildering. A government memorandum defining "Completed Staff Work" and another on how to prepare a proper memo to a superior ("FDA: The Facts, Discussion, Action Format" ) were unsprprising in that context, as was the original text of Elbert Hubbard's "Message to Garcia." But other messages where more unexpected, such as a long chapter from a book on life during the Thirty Years' War, ot Dylan Thomas' prose poem A Child's Christmas in Wales.
From page 157 (quote):
As machines relieve us of the brutal, tiring, and time-consuming labor that had been the lot of the majority of men from time immemorial; as they enable us to universalize affluence and leisure, we face a choice: we may take these benefits and life the life of the idle rich of old, pursuing a good time and not bothering about the quality of our own life or the life of the nation. Or, we may decide to emulate those -- and there were many -- who in the past considered wealth and leisure a trust, to be utilized for self-improvement and for improvement of their particular societies. The choice is for each individual to make. Moreover, each individual, under our form of government, has a right to speak out publicly in favor of making better use of science and technology than is possible under present conditions.
If those who agree with this new viewpoint become a majority; in other words, if a consensus is reached through public discussion of the issue, the American people may decide to take action. The action may displease powerful vested interests, but this is how we govern ourselves. The status quo has no absolute sanctity under our form of government. It must constantly justify itself to the people in whom is vested ultimate sovereignty over the nation.
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In reading this book, it's clear he worked hard at what he preached. He wasn't born in high station, or with great intelligence. He worked at it. Honed it. And wanted the same work and honing out of the people he trusted.
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