David Marquet: Turn the Ship Around! David Marquet, author of Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders*, is the former captain of the USS Santa Fe. Under his leadership, the Santa Fe moved from being the worst performing ship in the Navy to the best. David teaches us what his officers and him did to make this happen -- and how to turn followers into leaders. Quotes Good leaders give good orders, but great leaders don’t give any orders because they’ve built a team that doesn’t need to be told what to do. —David Marquet Too many times leaders think the problem is “out there,” but the real problem is in their own head. —David Marquet You only need to do one thing to engage employees: give them decision-making authority. —David Marquet By treating people like leaders, you build more leaders. —David Marquet The concept is act your way into new thinking, not think your way into new actions. —David Marquet Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.