Conversations in Management
It
was a dark and stormy night
during the winter of 1992 when a massive wave ripped 20
containers from the deck of a struggling freighter. Bursting as
they struck the churning seas, the containers released 29,000
rubber ducks (as well as beavers, turtles and frogs) into the
cold north Pacific. What happened next has become an epic
tale of survival. We know this because Curtis Ebbesmeyer has
been paying attention. Ebbesmeyer is an oceanographer. He’s made
a career of studying the oceans’ currents to determine, “where
they flow, how fast they flow, and how they interconnect.”
Beginning in the early nineties, he started using the products
swept from the decks of storm- tossed freighters to mark the
currents. Since Maritime law requires ship captain’s to document
where cargo goes overboard, he has precise data points and with
ocean-current mapping software, is able to predict landfall.
That’s when his band of volunteer beachcombers goes to work
scouring the shores to track the trash. They always have
something to show for their efforts because an alarming amount
of material falls into the drink every year. Over the years,
Ebbesmeyer has tracked 80,000 Nike shoes, five million Lego
blocks, 34,000 hockey gloves, and of course, 29,000 plastic
ducks. In the process he’s learned a lot about currents and even
more about the longevity of plastics. Fifteen years after
starting their swim, many of the toys are still brightly colored
and pliable as well!
There are
lots of implications to the voyage of the rubber ducks but there
are two considerations that are particularly important for
leaders. The first is the danger of ignoring what you don’t see.
Think of it as the out-of-sight-out-of-mind dilemma. The
shipping industry loses about 10,000 containers overboard every
year. Insurance pays the loss and everyone “moves on.” But
that’s not the end of it. What doesn’t sink gets caught up in
the currents along with other refuse. Before you know it, you’ve
got a buoyant garbage dump twice the size of Texas floating in
the Pacific. Since almost no one knows it’s there, not much is
done about it. The same thing is happening where you work. Minor
process inefficiencies, safety issues and employee problems are
occurring just outside your line of sight. Because they aren’t
major problems, they don’t grab your attention. It’s only when
an initiative falters, someone gets hurt or an employee sues
that you realize you’ve been out of touch. The other
consideration is that everything’s connected. The duck
that starts its journey with a 45,000 mile trek around the
Pacific before migrating through the Bering Straits, traversing
the artic ice pack and washing ashore in Scotland shows us that
the environment is truly global. In the same way, problems at
work rarely exist in isolation. A mechanical error in the shop
might cause an accident that ultimately closes down a busy
construction site. One angry employee may destroy an entire
office’s morale and end up decimating productivity.
Don’t ever
forget that you know only a fraction of what’s going on. You
have to make a real effort to be more fully involved. That means
asking more questions, talking to more people and by wandering
around. It’s also a good idea to consider the possible
ramifications of a decision before you make it. You might
be able to avoid some unhappy and unintended consequences if you
first think about how the pieces of your organization fit
together. Sure it takes some work, but it’s more rewarding than
simply going with the flow!
—Ebert
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