SAILING AND COMPANIES: FROM INDUSTRY 4.0 TO SAILING BOAT 4.0
by Olimpia Ponno, training manager and coordinator CMNED
What is the sport of sailing? It is not only one of the oldest sports in the world, but it is also a strong driver of communication used by the most advanced companies for team building and incentive activities. So the sport of sailing is a training tool that has developed over time with the progress of the industry and its management. Let’s explain how.
Phase 1.0 – The company is in a top-down mode (I order- you do), imposing human resources to do activities on sailing boats.
Phase 2.0 – The company – based on single units – gives each individual a role, everyone starts having its own purpose even on board without sharing a common goal.
Phase 3.0 – Employees start working in and for their group/ teams in the company and on sailing boat, they feel part of the team and their company.
Phase 4.0 – It’s the “WITH” approach of awareness and sharing. The company engages people from the very beginning during the planning phase, before organising a training course on the sailing boat, sharing a common project, objectives, values. Now the team members work connecting each other like communicating vessels. Each one contributes to the ecosystem for the good of many inside and outside the company, outside and inside the boat.
The expression “4.0” originated from the 4th Industrial Revolution. It is more a methodological and cultural revolution than a digital one, both of them affect corporate organization. Today companies push people to be focused on operational results, human resources need to demonstrate the ability to do. This kind of automation requires its complement (the shared method), because we often do things but we don’t know why. And how do we make a decision or problem-solve if we don’t manage anything and entrust our emotions to electronics, digital platforms and devices or time factor? We have to change frequency, tuning to the “channel 4.0” where, on the contrary, electronics, digital devices, money and sailing boats become tools at the service of mankind.
The sport of sailing requires mainly soft skills and socio-relational tools, which are critical to sail, navigate, keep the route, turn at the right time and reach the goal. The 4.0 approach marks the transition from ego to ecosystem, where each one is integrated and responsible for the common good. If only one human resource breaks the shared rules, the whole system starts waving, because everything is connected. The sport of sailing is an amplifier of this approach, putting into evidence challenges and opportunities of growth for the company and the human Capital ready to start their journey.
