Demanding Standards – The Rickover Legacy

A Legacy of High-Performance

Previously, we wrote about Rickover’s efforts to stop the normalization of deviation with the normalization of excellence (Click HERE to read the articles). It’s been 40 years since Admiral Rickover retired. But the standard of excellence goes on.

Many people today say that high standards of compliance are impossible. They claim that human error is inevitable and has to be accepted. Perhaps it can be learned from. Or maybe we need to learn how people accomplish tasks without complying with procedures or policies. Admiral Rickover would have found this unacceptable.

Rickover Established the First High-Reliability Organization

Rickover didn’t ask people what standard they liked. He established high standards of performance and accepted nothing else. If you wanted to be in “his” Nuclear Navy, you lived up to his standards, or you were kicked out of the program.

Here’s a video about the Nuclear Navy, Rickover’s standards, and why the US submarine fleet is different from any other in the world.

If you would like to learn more about the keys to this culture, you should attend the 2027 Global Summit and sign up for the Continuous Improvement to Achieve High Reliability Track. This track includes a track where Gard Clark, a former submarine Captain, will share “Best Practices from The Nuclear Navy for High Reliability.”

The 2027 Global TapRooT® Summit will be held near Houston, Texas (at the Margaritaville Resort at Lake Conroe), on April 5-9, 2027. Don’t miss this chance to learn secrets that can help you achieve excellence.

For more Summit information, CLICK HERE.