At the heart of Admiral James Stavridis’s training as a naval officer was the preparation to lead sailors in combat, to face the decisive moment in battle when it arises and make the best decision possible given the situation at hand. Over the course of his illustrious career he returned again and again to a relatively small number of legendary cases in point, holding them to the light repeatedly to see what lessons they yielded. Now, in To Risk it All, he offers up nine of the most useful and enthralling stories from the US Navy’s nearly 250-year history and draws from them a set of insights that can be of use to all of us when confronted with fateful choices.
Conflict. Crisis. Risk. These are words that have a meaning in a military context that we hope will never apply in quite the same way in our own lives. At the same time, as To Risk it All shows with great clarity, many lessons are universal. The first is simply understanding whether you’re really in an acute short-terms crisis or are confusing it with a more long-term challenge that can’t and shouldn’t be met with a short-term fix. Second, while fortune favors the bold, it favors the prepared even more.
A huge part of preparation is learning how to observe a situation clearly on its own terms first, avoiding biases and misinformation, before applying the lens of your values and analysis. Easier said than done, but there is a learning path. With the right preparation, you can force time to slow down, and draw on the best of yourself, and leave the rest out of it.
To Risk it All is filled with heroic exploits, thrillingly told, but it is anything but a shallow exercise in myth burnishing. Every leader in this book has real flaws, as all humans do, and Admiral Stavridis takes the analysis of their flaws as seriously as he does their strengths. The stories of failure, or at least decisions that have often been defined as such, are as crucial to the book as the stories of success. In the end, when this master class is dismissed, we can feel lucky for the hard situations we will never have to face, and better armed for the hard decisions we surely will, whether we expect them or not.
and his unique ability to offer incisive insights based on history,
military judgement, and risk analysis made him an invaluable member of the team.
Reading "To Risk It All" takes us on a voyage into danger
and the fast decisions that extraordinary leaders had to make
under extreme pressure
– it is full of lessons for anyone who aspires to lead well.”
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, WestExec Advisors
This book gets you involved. Each of the nine stories is a catalyst for
a vigorous discussion on the demands of leadership.
If you’re like me, you’ll agree with the author sometimes and
disagree other times. Two things are clear: one, you’ll be better
prepared to lead if you dive into this book, and two, nobody is more
qualified to help us navigate these waters than ADM Jim Stavridis,
who has not only studied the charts in detail, but also and more
importantly, has sailed these heavy seas himself.”
quickly recognize those who can impart important lessons with
both intelligence and scholarship. In "To Risk It All" Admiral Jim Stavridis
powerfully displays a unique ability to blend history, leadership, and
character to reveal our Navy's story at its best. Sailing on this voyage
will be an exciting learning experience for anyone who may come to
deal with risk in their lives."
The sea stories in To Risk It All provide invaluable lessons
for anyone facing difficult decisions in life.
Readers will be admirably equipped to make tough choices after going
on this voyage with Admiral Jim Stavridis,
my great shipmate in many demanding endeavors
from Afghanistan to the Pentagon.”
US Central Command, and Coalition Forces in Afghanistan
and former Director of the CIA
convince others that your assessment is correct and get them to join you?
I’ve been struggling to find this balance my entire career as a frontline news reporter.
Admiral Stavrdis has lived it, leading hundreds of thousands of troops in wartime.
I’ve known the Admiral for years. He is a natural leader and recognizes one when
he sees one. His masterful stories of nine people under extreme pressure in the
crucible of decision is brilliant history and even better counsel to anyone making
hard decisions from the boardroom to the battlefield."
Host On Assignment with Richard Engel
distilled by one of the Navy’s wisest admirals in modern times. Adm. James Stavridis
paints nine vivid stories of men and women at sea who faced agonizing decisions under
enormous stress. Stavridis tells their stories honestly: Not all the decisions these warriors made
were correct; sometimes they came with terrible personal and profession costs. But they took
action—the essential requirement—and did what they thought was right. Stavridis weaves
each story with his own experiences as a commander, which makes his tale a personal memoir,
as well as a piece of history. “To Risk it All” is the latest in a string of great books
by Stavridis that teach us how to make tough decisions under fire. Few of us will face
dilemmas like these nine men and women—but we’ll all have better grounding as we face
our own hard choices.
Order the book
Reviews
An “…insightful mix of naval history and leadership guide.” “Stavridis’s brisk tour of U.S. naval history is action-packed and colorful….contain nuggets of counterintuitive wisdom. Readers will come away both entertained and informed.” —Publishers Weekly
“Stavridis works hard to find common threads among his subjects, and each chapter includes insights into their characters, stressing those qualities responsible for their triumphs, which readers can put to use in their own lives. An expert in his field, the author is not shy about deploring character defects that tarnished some achievements. . . . Admiring accounts of some genuinely admirable American sailors.” —Kirkus