Top Exec Blog (Web Log)

Sometimes the ship we set sail in doesn't reach its destination fast enough. Sometimes it does not get there at all. Sometimes the captain at the helm is experienced and knows what to do, and other times, no matter how hard the sailors tote and pull, swing about and hoist the sail, the vessel does not pick up the wind nor make any real headway.

At times like this, one has to ask, is it better to be on that ship and sail maddeningly into the doldrums, or be set adrift in a rowboat on your own? Is it better to fight the battle with all-hands on deck or steer your own course?

Why is it that companies often have skippers who don't really know what course to take, nor how to achieve real progress, even in slow currents and little wind?

How is it that those same captains (colonels, admirals, whatever) cannot hear the shouts from their own deckmates and comrades on shore, those who are in the channel working with the natives, and providing advice and guidance to get the ship into port?

What does it take for captain and sailor, seaman and longshoreman, vendor and customer, to really be working in synch and arriving together at the same successful outcome?

Why is it the deckhand who walks the plank and not the captain, when the ship and its cargo don't arrive, or discover the route to India, or bring home the bars of gold on time?

In this sailor's estimation, for any captain, any ship, it's vision, strategy and courage that make the difference:

•     Vision: to see the way, understand the challenges and plot a course that anticipates difficulty and delays, even while seeing the golden future ahead
•     Strategy: making sure that all elements are created and mapped out to support the ship's long course, even if all supplies are not plentiful, and even if short-handed in savage seas. Making sure that it's not "survival" but rather "arrival".
•     Courage: to stay the course, and hold the tiller steady, even when the way is slow, the tides are against you or the shore line is distant. The ability to work and steer the ship through doldrums and disappointments to get her, her crew and her contents safely to port and back home again.

May your travels on the high seas be successful. Thanks for reading.

© Daniel A. Cabrera, TopExec.org, all rights reserved, 2008.