Good Stuff from Joan Eisenstodt

This morning, on "Weekend Edition Sunday" on NPR,  we listened to a wonderful storyteller, Captain 'Fatty' Goodlander,  a person who has lived on boats his entire life, tell about his current circumnavigation of the globe.  From the seas off Borneo, he talked about his life with his wife as they live life on the high seas. 

What struck me as much as his wonderful ability to tell stories (which was delightful and insightful, full of passion) was his emphasis on safety.  When asked about if he and his wife slept in shifts and how they managed while out on these adventures, he stressed the safety aspect of what they do.

 He said that when either had to use the 'head' or were off to sleep, they said, aloud, "I've got the watch" when they shifted responbility from one to the other.  Tho' he didn't say this specifically, what I interpreted was that they want to be sure that it is heard by the other with the knowledge that at no time would their safety ever be compromised because someone did not know the watch was theirs.

For years, I've written, trained and talked about meeting risk management.  A colleague and I have wondered why it is, still, after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, after fires and power outages (in hotels alone and in cities), and other disasters - esp. those we've seen so recently in China and Myanmar/Burma, our industry still does not ensure someone has 'the watch' during meetings.

What keeps our industry's professionals from ensuring there is a contingency plan? Why do we keep waiting for the next big disaster, believing that 'it' certainly couldn't happen here .. until it does?

Listen to Captain Fatty today and this summer as he shares his stories on the high seas.  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90570218

And at your next meeting, who will have the watch?