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Break the Cycle: Identify and Overcome the Real Cause of Your Problems
Step 1: Put down the bucket.
Addison Collingsworth
May 29, 2024
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"ALL HANDS ON DECK! WE'RE TAKING ON WATER!" blares the PA.
Startled awake, crew members spill out of their bunks and onto the soaked floor. They scramble up the stairs, forming a bucket brigade on the moonlit deck.
"Damage report?" the Commanding Officer barks from the bridge.
"We’ve registered no contact from the enemy, sir," the Executive Officer replies. "I’ve sent the Chief Engineer below deck to find the leak."
Minutes later, the Chief Engineer bursts onto the bridge. "Sir, you need to come see this. It’s urgent!"
"Take the helm!" the Commander orders, following the engineer below deck.
Trudging through knee-deep water, they arrive at the galley. Fighting the current and squinting through the flashing red lights, they approach a fountain of water spraying from the aft-facing wall.
"Do you see it, sir?" the Chief Engineer shouts over the chaos.
"Yes," the Commander responds grimly. "These holes are too round to be natural. We’ve been sabotaged."
The Commander pivots quickly, bounding up the stairs with the engineer in tow. Once on deck, he bellows, "ALL HANDS, HALT!"
The crew snaps to attention.
"We’ve been sabotaged! The enemy is likely still aboard. I want five men bailing water and five reporting to the Chief Engineer. All others, form search teams and scour the ship. Find the intruder!"
"YES, SIR!" the crew roars as they scatter to their assignments.
Ten minutes later, a group of sailors emerges from below deck with a bound and gagged prisoner.
"Sir, we found this," a crew member says, handing the Commander an industrial drill.
"Good work, men! Throw him in the brig for questioning, then all hands return to bailing water until further orders."
Identify Root Causes of Problems
That scene could be straight out of a movie, but it reminds me of a deeper truth about how we often handle our own crises.
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