Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash
An Alberg 30 is a handsome sailboat with classic lines. Years ago, I owned one and spent some time sailing around the Chesapeake Bay. There are so many lessons that come from spending time on the water but one of the most powerful was taught to me one day just minutes after leaving the marina.
I had a friend aboard and we decided to take the boat out for a quick jaunt. The weather was mild and sunny, a lazy day to sail with no goal other than to get out and bob about. Motoring out of the marina, I was at the wheel and paying little attention to the channel, navigation markers, etc. Just imagine the first mile on your way to work and you will have a good sense of my mindset.
As we got ready to clear out of the channel into open water, I swung the wheel and the boat did not respond. I couldn’t “feel” the resistance of the rudder in the water. What? Red Alert! We had lost steerage! We were adrift!
While this account does contain a bit of dramatic flair, I think it is safe to say that most things do not happen fast on a small sailboat. Top speed is the same as a modest jog! So while I was alarmed to lose steerage, rationality returned after a few deep breaths. Yes, we were adrift. Yes, I did not know what happened and how we were going to get back to the slip. No, I did not need to stay in the deep end of my emotional pool and flounder about…I needed to take a moment to focus on what was within my control and what was outside of my control.
This is the business lesson.
Even when you feel like you are adrift, everything, and I do mean everything, can be neatly placed into one of two categories: things you can control and things you can’t.
Feeling adrift is a terrible feeling. You may not know where you are, where you are going, or even how to move forward.
Stop.
Stop burning emotional cycles in your brain focusing on how you feel and what your current situation is.
Start focusing on what you can control, what is working, what you can change.
Start focusing on solving the most critical problems first.
In the case of my sailing mishap, I threw out an anchor so that the boat would stop moving. This was something I could control, and what a nice, neat metaphor!
With an anchor in place, I was no longer in any danger and I created time to think about what to do next. Shit happens (wastewater pun!) that is outside of our control. Find a way to slow things down, create space and time, move away from danger and urgency, and focus on what you can control. Importantly, and I do think this might be the biggest challenge, try to create a simple goal that will focus your thinking rather than focusing on an action.
An action without a goal is a bet…a bet that you hope will pay off but is a gamble nonetheless.
For me, the goal was getting back to the slip safely as quickly as possible. Set the goal and most potential actions are quickly contextualized. My goal of getting back to the slip safely and quickly led me to hail another boater who could give me a short tow back to the marina. This is exactly what I did and although the process was a bit sloppy, I was able to get back to the slip safely.
In business, as in life, we face challenges regularly. Many take us by surprise, plunging us into deep water and it feels like a struggle just to keep afloat. Instinct takes over and without a process to return to a rational mindset, each instance triggers our fight or flight response. It does not have to be this way.
Life is much more akin to a sailboat rather than a speedboat.
Most things are not happening as fast as we think they are and most things do not need an urgent response. Slow down. Take a deep breath. Throw out an anchor. What can you control? What goal can you set and what is the most critical problem to address first?
Take a minute to remember that you are the captain of your ship.
Look around at all of the beauty and know that it is patiently waiting for you to acknowledge it. You’ve got this.
Incidentally, I later learned that the reason I had lost steerage was because the pins connecting the rudder to the rudder stock had sheared. The metal was old and fatigued. There’s another lesson but we can save that for another day! See you out on the water :)
Written by: Austin Meyermann, Founder and President of Hunter Crown, LLC
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