Seafarers have a long history and tradition of discovering new territories and markets, surmounting the unthinkable, making global trade possible, and acting as role models. Ask any young boy what he wants to be when he grows up; at some point, they all want to be ships’ captains.

Nautical terms have become part of everyday speech, particularly in languages of countries with great seagoing histories: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, and Dutch, to name a few. For example terms like “Bail Out”, “Catch my Drift”, “Leeway”.

The person at the ship’s helm has a very important duty: go off course by even a few degrees when crossing the ocean, and you wind up in a different country! I once met a French sailor who had crossed the Atlantic with neither compass nor map. He had to ask where he was when he reached land and set foot ashore. He had wanted to go to the Caribbean; he landed in Brasil.

In this and future issues of At the Helm, I will use familiar nautical themes to present tips, ideas, and inspiration for anyone working in the field of Information Technology. I hope you enjoy it and that it helps you produce better results; I encourage your feedback.

Lessons from the world’s most demanding race event.

Every four years, the world’s most demanding competition is held: the Volvo Ocean Race, a multi-leg sailing race around the world. The object is to collect as many points as possible, with points based on the order of those finishing a leg or on in-port races. To make the race more interesting, points are also scored when passing a waypoint (scoring gate) roughly halfway through a leg.

The whole race event takes about nine months! The yachts must navigate the most treacherous oceans and capes, as well as challenging fishing areas and shipping lanes. At the same time, they are passing through some of the most dangerous, pirate-infested waters.

The 70-foot (21.3-m) yachts are very light, constructed of the most sophisticated materials available, and have very powerful sails. They reach such high speeds—speeds that many powerboats cannot maintain—that the 15 onboard crew members wear helmets when racing under heavy conditions. No other team sporting event in the world is as demanding as this one. Considering that it is already a major feat to sail around the world at a leisurely pace, this race is rightly referred to as “Life at the extreme.”

Success in sailing, and in this race in particular, requires a combination of many factors, the most important ones being great leadership, consistency, prudent risk-taking, and an eye for every detail without losing the big picture. Skippers manage their crew on boats and on shore in the same way a CEO manages a small business.

The Volvo Ocean Race can teach us many valuable lessons that can be applied to business and project management. Here are a few important ones:

1. Leadership makes or breaks a team’s performance
   The teams in the race’s Top Four (the overall winners among all candidates) all have great leaders. Observing them in interviews or during action, you immediately sense that each team member has a key role essential to the team’s overall performance. All team members must be highly motivated to give everything they have. When one member fails, the result is immediate. The winning leaders make sure every team member gives his best performance at all times. Their most common quote is, “We did everything we could.”

   Are you making sure every member in your team is giving her/his best?
   

2. Success is achieved by long-term commitment to consistent performance
   At the moment of this writing, the yacht holding a firm first position was the first to cross the line in only half the legs, and it won only two of five in-port races. But at all the other times when points were collected, the team was mostly in second place.

   Are you putting consistency and a focus on the end result ahead of short-term, quick wins?

3. Prudent risk pays off for long-term results
   To achieve results, we need to take risks. Not everything can be calculated. But risk should be prudent. While one racing team made a bold move after the scoring gate at New Zealand—on the longest leg (14,155 miles = 22,780 km) between Qingdao (China) and Rio de Janeiro (Brasil)—and became the first to arrive after more then 40 days of racing, this didn’t give them any more points. As a matter of fact, they’d had to stop for repairs on the previous leg, as they were about to sink due to serious cracks in the hull.

   Are you constantly assessing risk as part of executing your project or operation?

4. While the big picture is paramount, an eye for detail will prevent a serious failure
   One team hit an unidentified object just before the start in China and had to stop racing to repair the keel. They had assumed the starting area was deep enough that they could ignore the depth meter, instead focusing on the starting line. Even with the opportunity to catch up on the long leg ahead, they arrived last in Rio de Janeiro.

   Are you keeping track of details that matter?

Racing long distance with sailboats is like running a business or project 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The insights gained throughout the Volvo Ocean Race are applicable outside the yacht-racing scene. Take note of what these people have to say and use their advice to your advantage.

If you are interested in learning more about the actual race, visit volvooceanrace.org on the web. Information is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Russian, an indication that this is the world’s premier global sailing race.