- Seven Deadly Stupidities
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- The Price of Ignoring Red Flags
On June 18, 2023, OceanGate Technologies CEO, Stockton Rush, and four passengers climbed into the Titan submersible, the hatch was bolted closed from the outside, and they descended into the 45-degree waters of the North Atlantic. Two and half miles below was their destination: the remains of the Titanic.
While on its descent, Titan lost communications with its hosting ship and was never heard from again.
The Coast Guard found the remains of Titan at the bottom of the sea and determined it was destroyed by a catastrophic implosion.
In such an implosion, the hull of the sub was crushed by water pressure much like when you crush a paper cup or soda can. No trace of Rush or his passengers was ever found.
Media reports of the Titan disaster have been focused on the lives lost and the quest to conquer the goal of reaching theTitanic. Less has been discussed about the many problematic warning signs of doom in the years that led up to the implosion.
I have thoroughly researched the Titan incident and interviewed professionals in the submersible industry. Of all the red flags, and there were many as Titan was being constructed and tested, the one that jumps out to me is the story of David Lochridge, who was Titan’s chief pilot.
Lochridge raised concerns to OceanGate’s senior management about Titan’s design and materials. Lochridge wanted the vessel to get classified or inspected and tested by one of the submersible industry’s governing bodies. Rush wanted no part of it. He claimed such things slowed down innovation and hindered the incredible progress that was being made with Titan. What happened to Lochridge? He was terminated for OceanGate’s claim of “leaking confidential information.” |  David Lochridge |
The Titan disaster is an example of Quick and Dirty Thinking, which is one of the Seven Deadly Stupidities. See our all of our posts on Titan below:
Key Takeaways
Urgency in business decisions is good, but when several decisions in a row are made with urgency, the problems compound.
Every project is not mission-critical, finish-it-today, or the world ends.
Build a fail-safe decision framework to prevent false urgency and quick and dirty thinking from invading your process.
Strategic Insights
Stockton Rush was, well, in a rush to get to Titanic. Testing of hull materials was done urgently, test dives to different depths were done urgently, and the scheduling of the dives was done urgently in an effort to appease Rush’s investors. Don’t let your investors drive your business plan. Present your plan to investors and stick to it, even when they get impatient.
Urgency must be separated from False Urgency. Learn to separate the “must have now” decisions from decisions that can be deferred until you have more information to factor into your judgment. It is really important to develop these “thinking muscles.”
Are the naysayers having a chance to speak up and, more importantly, are they being taken seriously? Are there independent advisors, board members, or regulatory agencies acting as checks and balances. Yes, these all slow things down, but will also decrease your chances of a catastrophic career implosion.
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This Month’s Top Book recommendations:
The Seven Deadly Stupidities: Using Other People’s Failures to Make Better Decisions
Learn from case studies of bad decision making and avoid the easy mistakes.
The Psychology of Money
Lessons on money and life. I have given this book to a dozen people.
Zero to One
Billionaire Peter Thiel on why the bulk of the value is created early in any venture
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