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12 FEDA News & Views ABOARD THE The Enterprise was decommissioned in December 2012. At that time, she was the oldest active duty vessel in the U.S. Navy; the USS Constitution was her only elder. By Brent R. Grover, Managing Partner Evergreen Consulting, LLC brent@evergreen-consulting.com DISTRIBUTOR LESSONS FROM A NUCLEAR AIRCRAFT CARRIER T hink of three similarities between your distribution busi- ness and a fighting ship: Do extraordinary people and leaders make the difference between winning and losing? Does superior equipment make the difference? Are ingenious strategy and execution key to your success? A couple of years ago, I had the very special opportunity to pay a civilian visit to an American warship undergoing opera- tions at sea. I departed a U.S. Navy base on a carrier onboard delivery (COD) aircraft. After several hot and noisy hours flying facing backwards and strapped into a metal seat in a crowded cargo compartment, the flight ended abruptly as the cables on the deck of the USS Enterprise snagged our tailhook. With our engines at full throttle, the COD suddenly went from 165 mph to a dead stop. The excitement of being on board the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier had only just begun as we exited the cargo bay onto the deck of a busy airport with an incoming F-18 bearing down on us. It was good to get inside the cool and quiet "island" for a brief- ing with Captain Owen T. Honors in the conference room within his quarters. Throughout my visit on Enterprise, I marveled at the inter- action of more than 5,000 people who worked a long day, nearly every day, under crowded and dangerous conditions with some of the world's most complex and technologi- cally advanced machinery. I could not resist the urge to draw comparisons to the people and systems used by wholesale distributors. The primary functions in distribution—sales, operations, purchasing, accounting and credit, information systems, human resources and branch management—have their counterparts above and below deck on the world's larg- est fighting machines. This article will use three elements— people, systems and execution—to help you compare the leadership of your distributor business to management on the Enterprise. continued on page 20 The People The personnel complement on Enterprise included 3,500 people to support the ship's operations and 1,500 to support flight operations. They were comprised of both U.S. Navy personnel and about 200 Marines with their own air wing. About 10 percent of the people on board were female. The average age of the crew was 20.3 years. Captain Honors was in command of the ship, assisted by his executive officer (a commander), 150 officers and 150 chiefs (non-commissioned officers or NCO's). ➤ Both the ship's mission and the set of beliefs, held and taught by the U.S. Navy, were clearly understood by each person on the ship. ➤ Each crew member had absolute clarity about his or her role in carrying out the ship's mission. ➤ The officers, NCO's and crew treated one another with courtesy and respect. ➤ Communication was ongoing and strong. The Captain's frequent personal messages were delivered straight to the crew through public announcements, written material and multimedia. The officers and NCO's were trained to both speak to and listen to members of the crew. ➤ Lastly, maintaining a high level of morale was regarded as a critical priority by the ship's leadership and was expressed in many ways including good food, recreation and fitness opportunities and entertainment when pos- sible.