“Staying the course,” “learning the ropes,” “entering uncharted territory” – all are nautical phrases commonly used in business. Robert Hofmann would argue that’s because sailing a vessel is similar to running a business; each depends on hierarchy and teamwork to navigate smooth and rough seas alike.
Hofmann is executive director of the Providence Maritime Heritage Foundation, which operates a replica of an 18th-century Revolutionary War vessel: the Continental Sloop Providence.
Over the past year, Hofmann said, he and his staff have been working to market the sloop for corporate outings, to help pay for the nonprofit’s educational programs for Rhode Island youth. They’ve done about half a dozen such outings since 2001. He blames the nation’s slowed economy after the Sept. 11 attacks – although recently, he said, business has been starting to pick up. (Some of the increase may be as a result of the Sloop Providence’s being used in one of this summer’s blockbuster films, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.”).
A corporate cruise is an interesting experience for participating employees, Hofmann said, because of its physical and mental challenges.
“It is more engaging than just an outing,” he said. On the sloop “they can’t just Google something. They actually have to speak to people.”
Sometimes, Hofmann said, the experience can make people question their assumptions about themselves. For instance, one person might think he is an excellent communicator – until he tries to oversee the raising of the sail, a process that requires directing a number of people in a precise choreography. If the sail doesn’t go up, that worker might decide his planning or communication skills could use improvement.
A lesson most participants learn, Hofmann said, is to value each member of their team. From captain to helmsman to bowman, an entire crew is essential to making the vessel move forward – and the same is true, he said, for each position at a company.
Teamwork is important even when each member is operating a much smaller vessel, such as a one-person kayak, said Jack Radcliffe, owner of Ocean State Adventures in Bristol.
“You can’t go any faster in a group than the slowest person in that group,” Radcliffe said. “You can yell at the person or help the person do better – but the lesson is, you’re better off pulling someone up, because pushing them down slows the whole team down.”
Radcliffe said he talks with participants about that concept during corporate kayak outings. He also tries to “bump the myth of aggression as a technique for getting ahead,” by explaining that efficiency is more important than power or speed. No boat can go faster than its hull speed.
Ocean State Adventures also offers land-based team-building games, and will tailor its outings to meet a company’s needs.
For about 48 Rhode Island Hospital emergency room physicians, Radcliffe recalled, the company ran a “waiter game” that required participants to carry a tray of “urine samples” safely through a gauntlet of flying sponge balls. They were told to envision the people throwing the sponge balls as HMO administrators.
Radcliffe said the point was to show them what it was like from each point of view, because eventually, the waiter and the HMO administer would switch roles.
“Follow the leader of your choice” is another game the company offers. He said it requires that each participant pick a leader, and then tell no one who they’ve picked.
Slowly, everyone starts following the leaders they’ve chosen, until nobody moves and they all just stare at each other. “There’s something that is deeper than the immediate appearance of that game, that ties it into who you are and how you behave,” Radcliffe said.
The most important aspect of each game, he said, is the debriefing session that follows. It allows participants time to discuss and reflect on what the game means.
WorkPlace Dynamics conducts debriefing sessions after corporate sails aboard the Sloop Providence, Hofmann said.
The Providence-based consulting company organizes team-building workshops on the vessel as well. Each is tailored to the client’s objectives for the trip, he said.
For example, the Sloop’s professional crew always remains on deck to answer questions and make sure no one gets hurt – but the number of questions the participants are allowed to ask may depend on how challenging their company wants the experience to be.
“We make sure they accomplish certain goals,” Hofmann said. “A simple one is sailing, by themselves, without the crew helping.”
Besides building teamwork skills, said Ocean State Adventures’ Radcliffe, companies can utilize “this unique training as a way of retaining employees” or attracting new ones.
“Nothing beats real-life experience,” he said. “These are field trips for adults that will leave an indelible mark.”
