Loading ...When to Abandon Ship
So lately I’ve been thinking a lot on exactly when you should abandon ship; specifically, what event should be the turning point.
So many questions to ask- is the ship sinking? is it sinking on it’s own, or is someone shooting cannonballs at you?
Lets presume for a moment that the ship isn’t being shot at by anyone- instead, we’ll say that our route has been cut off by a field of icebergs, and the captain has decided “full speed ahead!”
The captain may be reckless and dangerous, but perhaps he knows what he’s doing. Well, lets suppose he gets sick and appoints someone (who was supposedly a captain on another ship) to take over before he dies.
Pretend that you’ve been on this ship for a long time, and you’ve become good friends with the crew, and have actually taken a liking to the ship. Good times, good company, good memories.
The crew starts to get a little nervous about this new captain. Why is this person in charge? She knows nothing about hoisting sails and has never rowed a day in her life. Well, sailing a ship is much more complex you think, so maybe she really is qualified for it.
Within an hour she’s grazed two icebergs, and twice crew members fall out to their icy deaths. The rudder was heavily damaged so your ship can only turn left. Due to the new captain’s actions, you know that the repairs will end up costing you 10% of your take from the journey.
When do you start thinking about jumping ship? You don’t want to be in the next round that falls to their icy deaths, and if the current captain keeps driving, you’re afraid she doesn’t have the skill to avoid future icebergs.
If you abandon ship, any other ships you’re likely to find nearby will also be in the iceberg field, so there’s no guarantee that the next place will be any safer or their captain is more competent.
So when do you jump ship? When you realize half the crew is bailing water, but the captain won’t allow anyone to patch the ship? When you see the people trying to patch the ship are using fishing net to stop leaks?
Now, lets suppose the Captain names an advisor to be the “first first mate” and makes the first mate you trust report to him (essentially stripping him of his power)? You don’t know the new guy, you’re not sure if you can trust him, but the way the situation was handled makes you trust the captain less.
How about when the Captain’s advisor comes down and tells you that, rather than the bilge pumps you should use buckets, because he doesn’t trust bilge pumps. Most of the crew has lost complete faith in the captain at this time, and are planning on abandoning ship, they’re just not sure when.
When do you jump? When you see the first mate say “The captain’s lost it, I’m getting outta here”?
Do you wait until before or after the first mate BTFOs (Bails Out)?
Do you hang on, looking for another ship to jump to, and hope you find one soon?
Right now the first mate is looking for a sturdy lifeboat, preparing to make his escape… so where does that leave you?
Are you ready to abandon ship?
There is always upheaval when a new captain comes on board. I have read before that when a ship gets a new captain you can expect 25% to 30% of the crew members to throw themselves over the railing and find a new ship to serve on.
In this economy in Michigan there aren’t too many ships taking on new crew members. Personally, I wouldn’t throw myself over the railing just yet. Send some messages to other ships and see if they have nice cabins on their ships. If you find one with better cabins then, disembark from your current ship and board the new Love Boat. In the meantime continue to row your current boat and keep your head down just in case the captain gets drunk and is looking to toss crew members to the fishes.
Just my $0.02 on boating.
This one is easy. I will continue your metaphor of a ship. So you are having problems up in the arctic, hitting icebergs and whatnot, but you never jump off in the icy water because you know you’ll likely die. You either ride it out until you can get onto another ship or delay your entry to the cold water at the last possible moment. You simply cannot tread that icy water for very long.
This is simplifying it, of course, but I think the answer is obvious to you. When someone cuts the salaries of everyone at your company, you start looking for a new job immediately. However, there is no reason to resign until you secure a more stable / higher paying job. Otherwise you will just going from one bad situation to another (probably worse) situation.
Yeah, I’m not much for swimming in icy waters- been there, done that.
Right now I can afford to be picky, but over the next few months I’ll become less so, especially seeing as how they’re about to decide that fishnet not only makes good patching material, but great sails as well.
The trick is to build your own boat. It doesn’t have to be the fastest, have the biggest mast, or even a fancy name, but, when you’re the captain, the first mate and the crew it makes for fairly smooth sailing.
A lot of corporations, executives, and company boards (be it profit or not for profit) are not innovative. Why?
They didn’t have to be.
If your company makes X widget, and X widget works and sells the last 20 years successfully with profit, you as an executive or board member have two choices:
1) Innovate and risk your position
2) Steady as she goes, continuing success, fat wallet and belly
Most executives / boards will chose option #2. There are plenty of examples of companies out there who have done this: GM, Ford, AIG, CitiBank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, etc. Wagoneer is a bumbling baffoon who was left at the helm of success and hit the iceberg.
Asking for a second bailout is BS…that team either knew they needed more money and purposely asked later for it (deception) or were incomptent.
If you’re getting paid six digits, if you’re getting fat bonuses, why rock the boat of success? It’s like animals do this in the wild. They find a successful food source, most stick with it and don’t venture out to risk extra success if what they have is sufficient.
Anyways, pirates suck, ninjas are cooler, ’cause pirates jump ship
[...] This is where my friend’s company is at right now. The surrounding army of 80 IT people has dwindled down to half it’s size. They had been fortunate to have a large collection of heroes- close to 20% of the troops were incredibly talented. Now all that’s left? Three (including him). All three have doubts as to why they’re still there, and are looking to abandon ship. [...]