Organizational decline—A stimulus for innovation?

T he Fastnet is a race for oceangoing sailboats that is held biannually in the North Atlantic. In 1979, a severe storm hit the racers, producing winds in excess of 70 mph and waves over 30 feet high. During the storm, 24 yachts out of the 300 competing were abandoned by their crews, and 15 sailors lost their lives. The 39-foot British Admiral's Cup Team yacht Eclipse completed the race without any major mishaps. Its skipper and crew had never sailed their boat in such extreme conditions, yet they were able to combine their skills and experience with creativity to escape the awesome brutality of the storm. In fact, they completed the race first in their class and second overall. In storm conditions, there are few prescribed routines and a wide variety of storm tactics that sailors can try. Different sail combinations can be used, or the boat can be "bare poled"--all sails taken down. Drag devices, such as ropes or parachute-like sea anchors, can be tried. Different orientations to the wind or sea can be attempted. The engine can be used, or the boat can be "heaved to," a method of "parking" a boat at sea using sail and rudder. The boat can be left to drift and find its own orientation to the storm. A technique or combination of techniques may work well for a given boat at a certain storm intensity, but may not work well at a higher intensity. One technique may work well for one boat, but not work at all for another boat, for reasons having to do with hull shape or other design factors. When confronted with the 1979 Fastnet storm, the crews tried different combinations of storm sailing techniques with varying results. Not all crews fared as well as that of the Eclipse. Several factors accounted for the boat's success. As the wind rose, the skipper conferred with his experienced crew about how to handle the boat in the unusual conditions. Several different sail configurations were tried. As the wind and seas continued to rise, the skipper decided tO stop racing and concentrate all of the crew's efforts on combating the storm. This was a difficult decision because the boat was designed for racing, the crew was trained in racing, and all of the sailors were focused on the mission of winning the race. After the decision was made, the crew found through trial and error that the best way to handle the storm's fury was to ride ahead of it under bare poles, so all sails were taken down. However, this put tremendous demand on the helmsman because the boat could not be allowed to turn sideways. If that happened, the breaking waves from the rear would catch the side of the boat and roll it over. Fortunately, the Eclipse had a good supply of experienced helmsmen. The strength and morale of the crew were maintained as they took their turns at the helm, in part because the skipper ordered hot soup to be prepared and rotated some of the crew below to rest. Because of the ferocity of the storm, the crews of two dozen other yachts in the race gave up hope and abandoned their boats---a decision that turned out to be a bad one. A disproportionate number of the sailors who left their boats died; yet when the storm was over, 19 of the 24 abandoned yachts were recovered afloat. In comparison, through a calculated and innovative-departure from the norm, the Eclipse beat the odds and survived the storm readily. Its crew kept their belief that the storm could be ridden out through concentration and good steering. The story of the Eclipse, when combined with current organization theory, can shed light on how managers can respond with innovation