Rickover's institutional legacy may have outlasted Fisher's reforms

Did Fisher affect the Royal Navy more than Rickover affected the U.S. Navy?

Probably not; Rickover's influence on the modern U.S. Navy's structure and capabilities proved more enduring.

The comparison distinguishes dramatic reform from institutional persistence. Fisher achieved enormous change in the Royal Navy, but the durability of every part of his program remains open to question. Rickover's influence on the size, scope, capabilities, technical culture, and organization of the modern U.S. Navy appears more enduring. Henderson provides an example of an admiral with stronger political skills, since reform depends on persuading governments as well as directing a service. The distinction separates a leader's immediate innovations from the institutions that remain after that leader has gone.