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By Patrick Lefler
For those who aren’t aware, The Spruance Group was named for one of the greatest fighting admirals from World War II—Admiral Raymond Spruance. In the space of less than five years, Spruance went from being a battleship commander to fleet admiral. He was considered a brilliant tactician, yet was modest in his dealings with others—a sharp contrast to George Patton, William “Bull” Halsey, and Douglas MacArthur, flamboyant commanders who dominated the headlines during the war. And while the military significance of Spruance’s leadership is certainly unquestioned, today’s business leaders can also learn a tremendous amount from Spruance’s leadership style.
Raymond Spruance first made a name for himself when he led a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier task force that decisively defeated the Imperial Japanese Navy in their attack against the Midway Atoll in the Pacific. The battle, just six months after Pearl Harbor, inflicted irreparable damage on the Japanese fleet, and is considered by many historians to be the turning point in the Pacific theatre. Spruance’s leadership role in the Battle for Midway is even more significant when you consider that Spruance—a relatively young cruiser division commander with no experience in carrier warfare—took over Admiral Halsey’s carrier task force at the last minute when Halsey was hospitalized with a severe case of psoriasis. Relying on Halsey’s experienced staff, Spruance led the smaller U.S. force to a resounding victory over the powerful Japanese fleet, sinking four Japanese carriers and effectively ending the Japanese dominance in the Pacific.
Spruance later went on to command the U.S. Central Pacific Fleet which at its peak included over three hundred fighting ships, thousands of aircraft, 1,200 amphibious ships carrying 180,000 assault troops, and more than 200 service-force vessels. At the Battle of the Philippine Sea, Spruance’s forces inflicted a death blow to the Imperial Japanese Navy fleet by sinking three Japanese carriers and destroying over 600 aircraft. The battle was significant in that U.S. forces killed most of the remaining Japanese-trained pilots and destroyed their last operational reserves of naval aircraft. Because the Japanese lacked the time and resources to train more pilots and build more aircraft going forward, they were increasingly forced to rely on land-based suicide kamikaze planes to combat the final push by U.S. naval and air forces in 1945. Spruance’s last two victories—the historic battle for Iwo Jima in February 1945 and the struggle for Okinawa two months later—capped a combat career that saw him go up against the Japanese on many occasions and never once lose a battle—a feat unrivaled by any other admiral or general during the war.
Want to get your leadership team to perform like Raymond Spruance during your company’s battles? Here are three lessons learned from Spruance that will give you a decisive edge over your competition.
1. Be aggressive...but understand the risks
It’s been said that Raymond Spruance grasped the Powell Doctrine fifty years before the doctrine formally came into existence during first Iraq war by applying overwhelming force against the enemy. But Spruance also recognized that risks were always changing and he never pushed his forces too far or too fast. The best example of this was in his performance at Midway. Despite being outnumbered, he took the fight to the Japanese and hit them as hard as he could, as quickly as he could. Even after several waves of U.S. aircraft were beaten badly by the Japanese, Spruance continued his assault, and by the end of the day his carrier-based planes sank the four Japanese aircraft carriers—along with destroying hundred of Japanese aircraft. Rather than push his luck and pursue the retreating Japanese fleet, Spruance ordered U.S. forces to disengage. Spruance’s reasoning was that as darkness fell, he feared that the Japanese would mount a counterattack with their formable force of battleships and heavy cruisers—all highly trained for night fighting. Spruance has been criticized by many historians for this move, but he clearly understood that the risks (and the upside to continuing the battle) had changed. There were no more Japanese carriers to destroy, and by going after the enemy in darkness, he would have exposed his remaining two carriers to Japanese surface ships seeking revenge. As it turned out, the Japanese did exactly as Spruance had feared when night fell: They waited for the sun to fall and then steamed towards the U.S. fleet at flank speed. But U.S. forces were already well ahead of the Japanese (steaming at flank speed themselves) and the battle ended without further action. 1
For today’s leaders, being bold and aggressive has to be tempered by understanding the risks involved. And just as Spruance understood that the risk/reward equation within a battle situation was dynamic, today’s C-level executives need to understand the same.
2. Assemble a staff that challenges you (and one another)
Unlike most CEOs who strive to assemble a staff that “plays well together,” Raymond Spruance took just the opposite approach. While he certainly looked for talent, he also looked for forceful and opinionated members to make up his team. He encouraged debate among his staff, he encouraged members to express their opinions to each other and to him, and most importantly, he knew when to stay out of the often-fierce confrontations that occurred between his subordinates as a result of the U.S. Central fleet’s relentless prosecution of the war. His ability to manage his staff could only occur because of the great faith he placed in both his people and of his ability to effectively delegate—all of which was the result of Spruance’s shrewd judgment of character.2
Throughout his command, Spruance actively solicited information from even the most junior members of his staff and actively encouraged their suggestions. But in the end, it was always Spruance who made the final decisions.
With the emphasis today on team building and cooperation for executive staff interaction, Spruance’s management style could not have been more different. But Spruance was also aware of the severe consequences of failure that could have resulted from any type of groupthink decision-making mentality amongst his staff. Today’s leaders need to also balance the benefits of team building with the risks that accompany a staff that spends too much time working to get along and not enough time thinking through, debating, and voicing individual opinions in order to solve the critical issues that confront businesses today.
3. Seek results, not perfection
Perhaps Raymond Spruance’s most important leadership trait was that he expected no one, himself included, to perform flawlessly. While this is especially true in the heat of battle, today’s business leaders also need to heed this advice. Naval historian Samuel Eliot Morison wrote that Spruance “had very high standards of effectiveness, for himself and everyone he esteemed. On the other hand….Spruance believed that a goal of perfection stifles timely decisions and inhibits the pace of action, whether in himself, his staff, his subordinates, or his peers. He had low regard for anyone who when judging effectiveness could not distinguish molehills from mountains.” 3
Raymond Spruance was, above all else, a decision-maker. He didn’t have the time or luxury to overanalyze the myriad decisions that needed to be made during the course of battle. He trusted his staff to give him sound information and opinions, and then relied on his own experience and judgment to make sound decisions in the course of battle—again, not seeking perfection, but seeking expediency and soundness.
Perhaps Samuel Morison said it best when he described Raymond Spruance as a man who “envied no man, regarded no one as rival, won the respect of all with whom he came in contact, and went ahead in his quiet way winning victories for his country.” We can all learn a lot from that kind of leadership.
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1 Mike Coppock, "Admiral Raymond Spruance: The Hit-First Warrior", Sea Classics, May 2008.
2 Wayne P. Hughes Jr., "Clear purpose, comprehensive execution: Raymond Ames Spruance", Naval War College Review, Autumn 2009.
3 Hughes.
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Patrick Lefler is the founder of The Spruance Group; a management consulting firm that helps growing companies grow dramatically faster. He is a former Marine Corps officer and a graduate of both Annapolis and The Wharton School. The Spruance Group acts as a trusted partner by offering unbiased advice and providing unique solutions to help clients solve their most pressing product strategy needs. For more information, visit www.spruancegroup.com or contact Patrick at: plefler@spruancegroup.com |