This story is one I’ve heard on CNBC – from CEO’s, COO’s, Analyst and many others. “In order for something to happen at xyz, (whatever company they’re speaking about) it’s going to be like stopping a loaded Supertanker at sea. It’s going to take forever!” Let’s begin with a fact – Yes, if a Supertanker was fully loaded and traveling at full speed ahead and then stopped the engines it would take awhile to stop. Now that is a fact. In reality why would a Supertanker need to all of a sudden … [Read more...]
Shh! Can You Keep A Secret?
An interesting thing about communication and ships is the secretive nature of information from HQ – headquarters - or the home office to and from the ship. Most of us can easily understand why this would be the case for Naval Vessels. Why has it continued to be a practice for merchant vessels? Some would make the case that this became a practice from WWI and then more so from WWII. Where the ships were heading and when they would be going were key strategic pieces of information. Without a … [Read more...]
How Are Your Language Skills?
“Never judge someone by the way they look or a book by the way it’s covered; For inside those tattered pages, there’s a lot to be discovered” Stephen Cosgrove. How are your language skills? In the United States 75% of the population speaks one language – English. One of the front and center areas for all people at work and in their lives now is diversity and inclusion. Everything begins with the ability to communicate. To accomplish this everyone involved must be open and willing to … [Read more...]
Is Your Communication Open or Guarded?
“Wise people speak because they have something to say; Fools speak because they have to say something.” Imagine if aboard a ship at sea if the Chief Engineer ran the engine room as a fiefdom. All of the engineers knew not to speak with anyone who are not part of their engine room team about anything going on in the engine room. Unless it was absolutely a safety to the ship and/or the crew issue even the Captain of the ship might not be kept informed about anything going on in the engine … [Read more...]
Do You Have A Lookout?
If you have ever worked aboard a merchant ship you know about the responsibilities of the lookout. A lookout is a person most often stationed on the ship’s bridge who maintains a constant watch of the water to report any kind of hazard that can be an obstacle in the navigation and cause harm to the ship. According to COLREG, a lookout is required to give his uninterrupted attention at all times to the ship’s navigation in order to inform the officer on watch (OOW) about other ships, shipwrecks, … [Read more...]
How Well Do You Communicate?
What would others say? Like the people you work with... The people you live with? What would they say? When aboard a deep sea ocean going ship traveling internationally you will stop at a variety of ports. Each one having its own culture, architecture and language(s). When the ship first arrives at the port the first contacts are made with people from there. A majority of people initially helping the ship into and at the port speak English. This would be the Pilot, the Docking Pilot … [Read more...]
