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You Are Just Beginning
by Jim Ridgway, USN Ret.
Leadership isn’t a rank, a title, or a corner office—it’s how you show up for your people, every single day.
In You Are Just Beginning: A Journey Into Leadership, retired U.S. Navy Commnder James R. Ridgway III, takes you from the cockpit of a Navy patrol aircraft to the heart of high-stakes corporate operations, sharing the real, unvarnished lessons he’s learned about leading others—and himself—over more than 30 years.
Part memoir, part leadership field guide, this book distills a career’s worth of hard-earned wisdom into clear, actionable tenets. You’ll discover why “take care of your people and they’ll take care of you” is more than a slogan, how trust is built (and destroyed), and why walking the talk matters so much. You’ll see how humility, transparency, and the courage to keep learning can transform not only your team, but your own career and character.
With candid sea stories, corporate case studies, and moments of both triumph and failure, Ridgway’s experiences prove that leadership is not a destination—it’s a journey. Whether you’re just starting out or decades into your career, the message is clear: the best leaders are always learning, always adapting… and always just beginning.
About the author
Jim Ridgway grew up in the rolling hills and jughandle roads of Bernardsville, New Jersey before heading to Albright College for a degree in Business. Somewhere along the way, the call of the open skies — and a good challenge — lured him to Aviation Officer’s Candidate School, launching a 23-year career as a U.S. Navy aviator and leader.
Navy adventures took him around the world and then some. From the Middle East to Southeast Asia to the Eastern Pacific, where he served as Commanding Officer of not one, but two Navy Operational Support Centers, later serving as Chief of Staff for Destroyer Squadron One. He also earned a master’s from the Naval War College in National Security and Strategic Studies.
After retiring from the Navy in 2014, Jim traded his flight suit for leadership roles in change management, aviation management, and emergency management at the same major California utility company he still works for today.
These days, he and his amazing wife, Sarah, split their home time between the Bay area and Kona, Hawaii. When they’re not working, you’ll find them traveling the globe, SCUBA diving, and collecting life experiences the way some people collect fridge magnets.