Some do’s and don’t in making sense of accidents and events

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗼’𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀

Following an accident, I see so many people, even those from within the maritime industry (experts?), becoming opinionated and judgmental about seeing ships going ‘too close’ to the land.

Just so we are aligned, ships are not meant to navigate in deep waters (only). It is inevitable that most ships will navigate in the proximity of land. That is why we have not been able to do away with skilled mariners.

To avoid meaningless ego bolstering discussions that take us nowhere, here’s the three things you may need to consider when making sense of accidents:

𝟭. 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲.

‘𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘬𝘵𝘶 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰 so 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥’. Well, this is not a banana carrier, and the accident did not happen in Timbuktu. While it is important to draw from past experiences, it is also important to be aware of the limits of your own expertise. Stay humble. Make an attempt to build on your past instead of reinforcing what you have always known.

𝟮. 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱. 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴.

The accident happened because the ship deviated from the authorised plan; the ship went too close to the rocks; the captain deliberately allowed the ship to navigate close to the hazards. Underneath many of these knee-jerk reactions lies a deeper pattern. We like to believe in simplified narratives because want to be seen in control of the risks. Think carefully what risks can be really controlled (for example, maintenance and periodic checks of machinery) and which ones can only be tackled (for example, individual and collective perception of risk, culture, biases, motivation). Give equal (even more) consideration to the latter in making sense of the accidents.

𝟯. 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗔𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

Something unexpected has happened. That is why it is an accident. It is a rare opportunity to think, reflect, relate with people involved and learn from them. Don’t loose this opportunity by distancing yourself from those involved. ‘I would have never done this. Really?’ That’s denial and projection. Slow down and ask yourself, can this happen to me or someone who I know? It will enhance your organisation’s ability to manage the unexpected. Even at a personal level, learning from setbacks and failures will only improve your chances of survival.