Chapter 1. An Eskimo on the Titanic

The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday's logic.—Peter Drucker

The Titanic was unsinkable. From the captain on the bridge to the humble sailor stoking the fires of the five boilers in the engine room, every crewmember knew that if he just did his job, the future was secure. Then the iceberg happened. On Sunday, April 14, 1912, at 11:45 p.m., the Titanic struck a jagged chunk of ice rising 50 to 100 feet above the water. The $7.5 million ship (in 1912 dollars!) broke apart and sank in 2 hours and 40 minutes. No one was secure. Passengers and crew raced to lifeboats or leapt overboard.

When the tragedy struck, the skills and equipment onboard were hopelessly ...

Get The Career Survival Kit (Collection) now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.