The Tribune

By SIMON COOPER Res Socius LET'S face it. The Concordia disaster is one huge mess that never should have happened. My heart goes out to those affected by it, and they are in my thoughts. But there are lessons for businesspeople, too. Let's compare how the unfortunate captain and the cruise ship owners fared, and what tips there are for us. * The cruise line had a plan in place for how the journey should proceed, and had alarm bells on the ship for when it deviated. Unfortunately, these had no effect. They either never rang through to head office, or no one was there to listen. All businesses need a strategy to chart their way through uncertain waters, and measures of deviance beyond which their computers should issue a report. Business owners should monitor critical numbers regularly, otherwise these are for naught, and their business could founder on the rocks, too. * The cruise line failed to allow for one thing, though. At sea, a captain is by definition in command and answerable to nobody on the ship, even if they complain. The old rule applies here. Who polices the policeman? They should choose their captains carefully, and we our managers. A business owner should also think twice before entrusting managers with critical tasks, such as placing orders and allowing discounts outside set parameters. Managers are also in command while the owner is away. Subordinates know they limit their careers when they challenge their superior's decisions. * The captain succumbed to pressure to show his ship off, apparently at the behest of a junior officer who knew people living on the island that the ship collided with. Pride goes before a fall, they say, and that poor captain, for whom I feel considerable pain, is going to drop a long, long way, too. * A manager should likewise beware the perils of being convinced against his will. This includes succumbing to wheedling staff demanding time-off when their first call is to duty, or who come late consistently every day. An even greater risk is the astute customer who drives prices down with tempting orders, until there is no profit left, including to the manager's ego. All four players in my story need one skill in common, and that's how to behave when things go wrong. Did you notice how the captain reacted to the other parties, as his illusion of total power evaporated? How he argued with the coast guard, and told the press he did nothing wrong. In sublime contrast, the cruise ship's owners behaved with exemplary tact. They apologised to everybody, explained exactly what had happened, and went about the business of dealing with the mess. What a difference there is between these two ways of dealing with a problem. What an ironic contrast. What could you and I learn from the wreck of the Costa Concordia? Have we charted a course for our companies? Are we monitoring whether things are going in the right direction? What happens if things go wrong and our customers become upset? And, most important of all, does everybody in our business understand the rules. Remember human error. Sophisticated systems are useless when ignored. NB: Simon Cooper is a founding partner of Res Socius, a business brokerage firm authorised by the Bahamas Investment Authority that facilitates the sale and purchase of businesses. Contact 636-8831 or visit www.ressocius.com.