[March 25, 2025] For many decades now, I’ve been a fan of U.S. Navy Admiral Hyman G. Rickover because he could identify, mentor, employ, and retain top-level officers. Rickover spent his entire career in the Navy, and with his exposure to the Oak Ridge Manhattan Project, he recognized the tremendous potential of nuclear technology.
Talent, Training, and Leadership
Rickover was a hands-on leader. For example, he was the final decision-maker for every naval officer who applied to the nuclear submarine force. He screened for high-energy, highly-motivated folks and would discover whether the applicant was quick on his feet. And it didn’t end with the interview. He made sure his officers continued their technical training for this new technology.
He was known to maintain direct communication with every submarine commander and contractor project officer under his command. This gave him early awareness of every issue. Rickover was known to be an intensely demanding and scrutinizing leader. Such a leadership style helped him overcome how to build and operate complex systems.
“Complex jobs cannot be accomplished effectively with transients. A manager must make the work challenging and rewarding so that his people will remain with the organization for many years. This allows it to benefit fully from their knowledge, experience, and corporate memory.” — Hyman Rickover, 1982
Industrial State Capacity
His leadership style extended to private companies he worked with. He said that the government is the “customer,” and the contractor is responsible for delivering.
Rickover also revamped the practices of project officers who he required to live on-site and report any delays or unforeseen issues directly to him. This is how he could keep projects on schedule. He also hired technical experts and would send them to civilian contractor sites and report back all issues. Rickover’s project officer was to be his eyes and ears on the ground. And don’t get friendly with the contractor or his wives.
Bureaucratic Innovation
Large, complex projects require lots of people. Rickover learned how to work with government bureaucracy and to determine which rules mattered the most and which didn’t. His bureaucratic skill is exemplified by his successful rallying of the Navy to support the nuclear-powered submarine. He was also able to reduce risk by following two parallel chains of command: one Navy and one civilian.
“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 this nation” — Hyman Rickover
He believed that the right team (that he built), with the right culture, could build huge and complex technologies, even within the government. Washington DC focuses on policy and money, and Rickover brought a human-centered view of technological policy. But it requires leaders with the vision and drive to build technology.
NOTE: This article was based on “Rickover’s Lessons” by Lily Ottinger, March 20, 2025 on ChinaTalk and can be found at this link: https://www.chinatalk.media/p/rickovers-lessons-how-to-build-a
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Please read my books:
Go NAVY
“Complex jobs cannot be accomplished effectively with transients. A manager must make the work challenging and rewarding so that his people will remain with the organization for many years. This allows it to benefit fully from their knowledge, experience, and corporate memory.” — Hyman Rickover, 1982
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT QUOTE. and thanks to Gen. Satterfield for posting it. We have the opposite idea in businesss today in America.
And don’t be too surprised. Although I do think this is changing.
During than long career, he made enemies, within the Naval bureaucracies and in the halls of Congress.
The son of a tailor, Rickover rose through hard work, continuing education, and persistent insistence on personal excellence and responsibility to eventually hold flag rank in the US Navy for 30 years.
Almost like Gen. Satterfield but of course we now that Rickover served more time in the US Navy than any other person ever, regardless of service.
https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/profile/hyman-g-rickover/
Picture of Admiral Rickover inspecting America’s first nuclear-powered submarine in 1954, the Nautilus.
Hyman G. Rickover – Admiral, Director of Naval Reactors, Washington, DC & Oak Ridge, TN
Hyman George Rickover was a Navy admiral who served during World War II who is known as the “Father of the Nuclear Navy” due to his role in developing the first nuclear-powered submarine.
See the Atomic Heritage Foundation
https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/profile/hyman-g-rickover/
Adm. Rickover is an example of not doing dumb.
Gen. Satterfield is giving us lessons from the best of the best military leaders that America has to offer. Pay close attention to these articles and somehow mark them for you to re-read later. They are precious. Keep the leadership faith, all.
Adm Rickover is indeed the best of America’s best. And I remember when Gen. Satterfield said that the best thing he loved about being in the Army was meeting some of the very best patriots that America has ever produced. Now, that’s a humble way of saying that he does appreciate loving America and those of us who are his citizens.
Yep, Northeast, and that is why I’m a big fan of this leadership blog and will be as long as Gen. S. runs it.
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…. and this is why I also come to this site nearly every day and I have read nearly every article posted, regardless of length or content. Every time I come and read this blog, I learn something new and useful.
Thank you, Gen. Satterfield for a review of the basic leadership principles of a special hero of mine. It was because I found him so great that I joined the US Navy, now retired myself. 🚢
🇺🇸 A true American hero. 🇺🇸
And not easy. Though Rickover was qualified in the technical aspects of commanding both surface ships and submarines during the Second World War, his own career choice barred him from doing so. Rickover applied for and received the designation of EDO, (Engineering Duty Officer). Though still a line officer, he was a restricted one, and only unrestricted line officers were eligible for ship command. Only submarine-qualified line officers could command submarines. During most of the war, Rickover served in the Electrical Engineering Section of the Bureau of Ships, though he was seldom behind a Washington desk. He inspected the engineering spaces of ships damaged in combat whenever and wherever he could. Ships entering the yards for routine overhaul also occupied his attention. Rickover gained a reputation for possessing tireless and meticulous attention to detail, no matter how small.
— from the History Collection
https://historycollection.com/this-cantankerous-engineer-built-the-united-states-nuclear-navy/