# All Aboard the Sinking Ship By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2023-02-16 When a ship is sinking, most people panic unless they have trained to deal with the experience or have actually experienced it. When an organization is sinking, people smile, give glowing presentations, and quietly organize their personal belongings. An eerie and calm feeling emerges in any public setting while the organization dies. Behind closed doors or in private chats, people express their disbelief, concern, and anger. This dualistic behavior aligns with what we expect on a sinking ship - if the people have experienced sinking ships. Outward projections of calm and peace, and inward struggle and anxiety. However, given the stark differences in outcome (horrible death vs. losing your job), it's interesting that human behavior is the same. Our brain's operating system clearly needs an upgrade. However, what does this tell us about organizations? Well, if nearly everyone is calm and projecting positivity with cover-your-ass behavior whenever an organization is dying, most people must have experienced this unfortunate phenomenon many times over. In other words, organizational failure is so common that everyone has been on dozens of sinking ships and knows exactly what to do. Sure, someone entering the workforce for the first time will likely panic, but by the third organization, they are grizzled veterans of layoffs and masters of bullshit performance art that is the modern business during a disaster. We are so used to failure that we don't even think about it. Ironically, if something in business continues to fail (e.g. team, strategic plan, or employee), the popular idea is to eliminate it. Yet, we continue to operate in a system of endless organizational failure without trying to do something better. We keep getting on sinking boats wearing awkward and uncomfortable life vests full-time. Maybe we should build a better boat. #### Related Items [[Systems Thinking]] [[Organizational Analytics]] [[Business]] [[Reality]] [[Performance]]