Even the Titanic Was Warned

I've discovered that being the leader of anything requires a destination. I can't lead anyone or anything if I don't have an end goal. In my role as executive director there are 111 staff/clients that look to me for direction. They want to know that I am confident that our course is accurate. They need assurance that I have the skill and ability to read the compass and figure out the correct heading.

Our company is creating our next 3 to 5 year plan. Together we have been trying to set a course for our future; not everyone has the same vision for the future. While committee members have had input into the vision of our future it wasn’t until our last meeting that I realized the obvious. The future of the company needs to come from within the company, from those that feel its heartbeat everyday and travel the daily course.

There are many courses that we can choose to follow, worthy goals, each with a different set of parameters on how to get there. Someone needs to figure out which set of parameters to use. It’s my responsibility to gather quality input, crunch number, take surveys and pray. But ultimately I determine the course, lay in the heading and establish an end destination that everyone can commit to and believe in.

Why am I telling you this?

What happens if I’m not prepared to steer the ship into the future?

As I wrote this blog I came across a news article about a cruise line accident in 2006. This was the findings of the investigation into the incident.

Federal investigators blamed a crew member's steering error for sending a cruise ship into a dangerous roll shortly after it left Port Canaveral in July 2006 -- an at-sea accident that injured nearly 300 people. As the automatic pilot found its course back to New York, it started making a left turn when the person in charge on the bridge, the second officer, noticed the ship's automatic pilot needle was far to the left. The officer perceived a problem, "panicked," then took the ship out of automatic pilot thinking the meter was showing that the ship was turning too sharply to one side. But instead of turning the Crown Princess back to the right, the second officer began turning the wheel several times -- including further left instead of back the other way – causing the ship to make an even sharper left hand turn, listing nearly 24 degrees. The second officer's steering "led to vessel responses that he did not expect, did not understand and was therefore unable to correct," the National Transportation Safety Board determined after a year-and-a-half investigation.

That statement hit me between the eyes. The crew member thought (incorrectly) there was a problem. Acting upon his incorrect assumption he made the situation worse. He reacted to what he saw in front of him. He thought he had a problem and he panicked. Because he didn't understand how the system worked he thought he was steering back on course, when in reality his course was true and steady.

I’ve laid in the course, set the compass and engaged in steering the ship. With God’s help I am reading all the dials and gages properly and steering a true course.

Then the storm hits.

Here is the blog tip of the day.

When the storm hits, you need to be just as sure of your destination as when the waters were calm!

If you panic you will read the gages incorrectly and steer off course.

Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.

Even the Titanic had warning of icebergs ahead.

Kim Angela