Oldendorff Centenary Book - Flipbook - Page 29
WHEN THINGS GO WRONG
Mistakes happen. But are they a sign of weakness – or an opportunity
for improvement?
One consequence of giving people freedom to act is that
people make mistakes. But this, as Peter enthusiastically
explains, is a good thing. “People are not perfect and
situations are not perfect. So there are going to be
mistakes. I’ve made mistakes. So has Henning. So have
all the key people in the company and we are all the
stronger because of it. The trick is to not make the same
mistake twice...”
LEARNING FROM OUR MISTAKES
People talk, they ask advice. They invite the input of
their peers because they know the collective knowledge
will be shared and it will help them make the right
decision. If they are the right kind of people they will
not make too many mistakes. Everyone knows that
successes will far outweigh failures and that we learn
from every error.
Over the years, things have indeed gone wrong. On the
financial side, we have put money into bad projects
and trust in bad people. Operationally, we have
misjudged risk, mishandled situations and mis-managed
opportunities. There have been accidents, incidents and
events at sea that we wish we could have avoided.
In the words of Patrick Hutchins in the London office:
“Henning would never blame you if things went wrong.
He was not interested in knowing whose fault it was.
He knew that, if you were a true Oldendorff person, a
mistake meant that it would never happen again. In an
unconventional way, he felt the company was getting
stronger with every error. Now, that’s trust.”
But the company does not follow a ‘two strikes
and you’re out’ approach. Risks are not managed by
checking with the rules or checking with your boss.
They are managed by the natural desire of the people
at Oldendorff not to make mistakes.
Henning believes that mistakes are a fact of life in a
company that seeks to innovate: “Maybe other big
companies never make mistakes. Maybe their processes
are so complete and perfect that nothing goes wrong.
But I doubt it – and surely that means that they never
change or improve, which is terrible.”
Or as Tom Hagen puts it: “From time to time we get
things wrong. But we don’t blame good people for the
occasional bad decision. That’s what we believe – and
I’m pretty sure we have got that one right.”
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