Cutler Dawson: Truth, Trust & People First

Review by Bill Doughty

Thirty years ago this month, the guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton (CG 59) was undergoing repairs after being severely battle-damaged by an Iraqi mine while on patrol in the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm. Princeton’s new CO, then-Capt. Cutler Dawson, quickly realized some of his crew members were as damaged as their ship.

While Princeton was being repaired in the shipyard, Dawson set out to help his sailors and their families recover from the shock and despair they were experiencing.

"The Princeton was in very bad shape, and so were some of the sailors. In addition, we had to work with a lot of strangers –– the shipyard workers –– who were in our spaces all day and night all over the ship.”

To prevent and counter any animosity between his sailors and the civilian shipyard artisans, Dawson went to the deckplates and got to know the workers, acknowledging their hard work and showing his and his crew’s appreciation.

“Our crew hosted picnics for the shipyard workers and we singled out the ones who were doing a really good job by writing thank-you notes to them and their supervisors. With a smile, I would tell all the technical representatives who came aboard to fix our radar and combat systems that I would house and feed them as long as it took to fix the problem and that my crew was ready and willing to assist. I wanted to foster a sense of teamwork and motivate them with encouragement, not criticism. After all, we were somewhat codependent on this project to be successful and, as the saying goes, ‘You get more with honey than you do with vinegar.’”

To paraphrase Dawson in another metaphor in his book “From the Sea to the C-Suite: Lessons Learned from the Bridge to the Corner Office” (Naval Institute Press, 2020): when it comes to carrots or sticks, choose carrots!

He offers leadership advice from his perspective as a retired vice admiral and former CEO of the Navy Federal Credit Union. He shows the value of passion and compassion, energy and empathy, and incentivizing and innovating. Most of all, he demonstrates the importance of truth, trust, and putting people first.

“If you can demonstrate to your crew members that you care about them and truly understand the difficulty of their tasks, they will do remarkable things for you; by contrast, if they think you are there just to further your own career, they will do no more than the minimum.”

While USS Princeton was being repaired Dawson kept his crew busy preparing for exams and certifications, staying positive and focused on trying to achieve work-life balance. He instructed his executive officer to organize recreational outings, and he promoted training on nutrition and leading healthy lifestyles. At NFCU, he instituted some of the same strategies –– including smoking cessation, yoga, and running 5Ks –– while nurturing a family culture not only for employees but also for customers, who are called “members” of the credit union.

Dawson checks an NFCU machine at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti.

NFCU members include sailors and marines and their families as well as DOD civilians and other military personnel and their families. Dawson quadrupled membership and grew the business exponentially –– even to Djibouti on the Horn of Africa –– while demanding the highest standards of integrity and customer service. He says he demands “honesty and transparency from my employees.” “As I always say, I want to hear the truth, even though I may not always like the truth.”

Some surprising nuggets in this book include a connection with Rear Adm. George Morrison, father of the Doors’s Jim Morrison; a visit the USS Midway in the Sea of Japan; an attempt to expand library hours for his sailors after work; an order to one of his officers to get in the bosun’s chair; and reflections about two separate collisions by Navy ships in the Pacific in 2017.

The USS Princeton shipyard vignette is just one of the many sea stories and some of the salty logic Dawson offers in this remarkable book. For example, he explains the concept of “Unodir” (unless otherwise directed), remembers what he learned from “holystoning” a teak deck, and tells why leaders must look beyond their "lifelines."

He references poignantly, more than once, what it was like to have a thoughtless, uncaring, and mean-spirited CO as a boss. You can learn how not to be when you’ve seen a bad leader in a senior leadership position.

Builder Constructionman Matthew Best, from Stockton, Calif., assigned to U.S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 3’s Detail Tinian, reaffirms the proper placement of a gable-end on a Southwest Asia hut being constructed on Camp Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands, July 28, 2020. (CBSN Marcus Henley)

Finally, Dawson puts a big spotlight on the power and ethos of the Seabees (Construction Battalion engineers/Sailors) –– “Be a Seabee and find a way to ‘get to yes.’” He shows how the Seabees’ “can do” attitude as warriors, builders, and humanitarians accomplished the seemingly impossible in World War II, the Korean War, in Vietnam, and in the Middle East. And they continue to build on their legacy.

RDML Annie Andrews and Dawson

In other salty references he cites the influences of the biography of John Paul Jones, the history of USS Constitution, and the education provided at the U.S. Naval Academy. Dawson is a distinguished graduate of the class of 1970. “The lessons I learned in the Navy were directly transferrable to the business world,” Dawson says.

A lot of Dawson’s hands-on leadership advice mirrors that of retired Navy Captain David Marquet in his landmark book, “Turn the Ship Around” –– another highly recommended Navy read.

“C-Suite” is endorsed by Adm. (ret.) Mike Mullen, Adm. (ret.) Robert J. Natter, Army Gen. (ret.) Barry R. McCaffrey, and Adm. (ret.) James Stavridis, among others. It’s not surprising that many of the insights, including “follow your North Star,” are reminiscent of Mullen (“Look. Listen. Learn.”) and Stavridis, who often speaks of sailing "True North."

“Having a strong commitment to public service was at my core,” Dawson writes. His North Star is “Always do the right thing” –– Demand truth, develop trust, and always keep people first.

At the end of each chapter of “From the Sea to the C-Suite” is a “Foot Stomper,” in maritime lingo a synopsis of his key point for added emphasis. The book’s foreword is by Vice Adm. (ret.) John A. Lockard, chairman of the board of the Navy Federal Credit Union. The book was written with Taylor Baldwin Kiland, who has authored, edited, or ghostwritten 18 books, “including two about our nation’s Vietnam POWs.”

In January 2019 Dawson handed the reins as NFCU CEO to Mary McDuffie, former Chief Operating Officer of Navy Federal Credit Union.