Do You Know The Real Reason The Titanic Sank?

The mention of the word “Titanic” is liable to put several images in your head. 

Chances are you’re now thinking of a young Kate Winslet, arms outstretched in the direction of the ship’s journey, breathlessly informing an even younger Leonardo DiCaprio that she is, in fact, flying. Or maybe you’re thinking of how the ship’s heroic encapsulation of American progress contrasts tragically with its eventual resting place at the bottom of the ocean. 

If I were to ask you the cause of the ship’s sinking, I would bet good money that you’d answer one thing: 

It was an iceberg that did it.

In a sense, yes. The Titanic’s famous collision with an iceberg is what damaged the ship’s hull to the point of sinking. But what is often glossed over, ignored, or merely forgotten is that there were other factors that went into the accident.

By using a problem-solving technique called Root Cause Analysis – one of the many techniques covered in my forthcoming book What’s Your Problem? – we can uncover other causes of the accident. In doing so, we can better understand what happened and, strangely enough, train ourselves to approach problems in a more productive way.

There were five additional factors that went into the accident. The first was simply that the ship was going too fast. Captain Murdoch was trying to make up some time toward the end of the trip and ordered the engine room to bring the boat to full speed. I’m sure we can all relate to this feeling of an impending deadline.

Secondly, there were some unique meteorological events under weigh in 1912, the year of the Titanic’s first and last voyage. The water in the area was unusually warm that summer, which caused more icebergs to melt and drift around the sea.

The third contributing factor was that when the iceberg was spotted, the person responsible for steering the rudder initially turned the ship the wrong way. Misinterpreting a command, he turned the ship to the right instead of pushing the tiller right in order to make the ship turn left. Although the mistake was quickly corrected, these crucial moments spelled the difference between avoidance and collision. And you think you’ve had bad days on the job.

Fourth, the steel plates used in the bow and stern were held together with low-grade rivets. High-grade rivets were in short supply at the time, and their cheaper counterparts were responsible for allowing the iceberg to inflict the degree of damage that it did.

Fifth, and finally, when the captain saw that the ship was not slowing down quickly enough, he ordered the engine room to reverse thrust, thinking this would prevent contact with the iceberg. But in practice, this order meant the propeller was standing still for several seconds, making it much harder to turn the ship away from the menacing iceberg. 

Isn’t this interesting? I think it’s interesting. But more than that, I think the example of the Titanic demonstrates how different approaches to problem-solving are profoundly useful. By applying this technique, we’ve been able to come up with a much richer explanation for what happened. If we were mariner’s around the turn of the century, we could use this information to help passenger ships operate more efficiently and safely.

Importantly, the point here is not that any one of these factors was the actual cause of the Titanic’s sinking. The point is that shifting one’s attention away from the oversimplified (albeit temptingly dramatic) story of the iceberg helps one fully understand the network of causality that lead to a particular negative result.

This is precisely what heightened problem-solving does for its user – whether that user is a sea captain or a CEO. 

What’s Your Problem? features several techniques like this one, guiding the reader through various methods of identifying the real factors at the heart of a business problem. These techniques offer more detailed and productive modes of response to problems, concretely adding problem-solving tools to the reader’s tool belt.

More generally, the techniques covered in What’s Your Problem? also contribute to a culture of productive thoughtfulness that sidesteps easy answers in favor of a richer attention to opportunities for added value. To return briefly to the symbolism of the Titanic, What’s Your Problem? shows how our perceptions of the problems holding your business back may be, in reality, merely the tip of the iceberg.

I’m excited about this book, and I’m excited about the prospect of you being a part of its release. If you’re interested in the type of problem-solving described here and would like to know more – you’re in luck!

I’m giving away a limited number of books prior to its release date. Click here to request an advanced reader copy of the book before it is available to the public. 

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About Steve Goldhaber: Steve has 25 years experience in marketing. Starting as an Intern and working his way up to Executive Vice President of a Fortune 500 company, he is currently the Founder and CEO of 26 Characters, a B2B marketing company that supports clients’ growth through problem-solving.

About The Book: Preoccupied with staying on top of the latest tech platforms, many marketers haven’t had time to develop crucial problem-solving skills. Fulfilling the next tactical request can come at the expense of responding to the more fundamental business problem in front of them. This book offers concrete problem-solving techniques and strategies that will make you a better B2B marketer.