3 Subcultures of Shipping

I have made an attempt to map the three subcultures of the maritime industry – Display, Formal and Informal.

I admit it’s a sweeping generalisation. But it came from listening to the discourse of safety across the three subcultures of the maritime industry.

At the heart of many safety initiatives lies a common denominator – First do no harm.

The Display side loves the idea. What is there not to? These are the C-Suite people, PR, HR and self-proclaimed safety leaders. Their desire is looking good and what better than the propaganda of Zero Harm, Do no harm, Safety First, and Psychological Safety. They believe in their fantasies and beating the drum so that everyone believes in what they believe.

Their challenge is meeting the competing expectations of the shareholders, customers, investors, and clients. You must learn to say the right words; substance is not necessary.

The Formal side lives it. These are the middle managers, auditing and inspection teams, and technical teams. Their job is to turn the fantasies of the elites into tangible realities. Their tool in hand: measurement and continuous improvement.

But this is a difficult job and even more, if you are a person of integrity. Measuring someone else’s fantasies and making them appear real is painful business. Life teaches you to adapt and learn. You learn to play the watermelon game. You keep the KPIs in green from the outside even when everything inside is blood red. You learn to move the metrics from red to green using magic words i.e be careful’; ‘stand clear of the line of fire’ or ‘use PPE’. Measurement slowly becomes a way of life for the Formal side. A religion. What you cannot measure, you learn to discard, withhold, omit, twist and spin.

But the urge of controlling everything comes at a price. Too many ship managers suffer from a life without meaning. Psychosis and Neurosis follows. But you are not allowed those words. Instead, you say ‘mental health condition’. Even there, Apps and Fitbits comes to rescue.

And what about the informal side? These are the seafarers, the ranks and the ratings. Their desire – leave us alone. Life goes on despite all the empty slogans and hollow maxims as long as they have enough WD-40 in stock.

(A brilliant) reading: Sisyphus in Management by Stefan Kohl