Into the Storm by Dennis N.T.Perkins with Jillian B. Murphy - Book review

Into the Storm

Lessons in Teamwork from the Treacherous Sydney to Hobart Ocean Race

By: Dennis N.T. Perkins, Ph.D., Jillian B. Murphy

Published: November 1, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 288 pages
ISBN-10: 0814431984
ISBN-13: 978-0814431986
Publisher: AMACOM









"Having a superb team doesn't guarantee success, and every challenging adventure involves an element of chance. But I believe that the kind of teamwork exhibited by the best ocean racing teams changes the odds", writes writes chief executive officer of The Syncretics Group, Dennis N.T. Perkins, Ph.D., in his fascinating and teamwork lesson filled book Into the Storm: Lessons in Teamwork from the Treacherous Sydney to Hobart Ocean Race. The author describes the epic adventure of the 35-foot AFR Midnight Rambler, an ocean racing boat that sailed into a dangerous hurricane during the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Ocean Race, and shares the lessons learned through the actions of the skipper, Ed Psaltis and his six member crew.



Dennis N.T. Perkins (photo left) and Jillian Murphy recognize the importance of the victory by AFR Midnight Rambler and its crew as an incredible achievement in a race marred by tragedy and loss of life. The authors look more deeply into how the skipper and the crew were able to transform near death into a successful race result. For the author, not only surviving but winning the coveted Tattersall's Cup, was more than mere chance and good fortune.

Instead, Dennis N.T. Perkins and Jillian Murphy uncover the exemplary practices of leadership and teamwork that outline and accentuate the concept of what he calls teamwork at the edge. The author offers his analysis of the teamwork aspects that created the success of the AFR Midnight Rambler, despite the harshest and most dangerous of sailing conditions.



Jillian Murphy (photo left) and Dennis N.T. Perkins understand the critical importance of teamwork in times of adversity. The authors examine the role of leadership, and how its burden can be shared by the team as a whole. During a crisis, the necessity of leadership is so great that more than one person is required at the time. The very nature of leadership, and the composition of the team, caries with time and circumstances. As a result, the author examines the evolution of leadership during times of crisis.

As a result of the lessons learned during the race, and through the teamwork displayed on the AFR Midnight Rambler, Dennis N.T. Perkins and Jillian Murphy share the strategies for teamwork at the edge. Those strategies are as follows:

* Team unity: Make the team as a whole the central focus
* Prepare, prepare, prepare: Decide that failure is not an option
* Balanced optimism: Discover and focus on a winning result
* Relentless learning: Build a culture of learning and innovation
* Calculated risk: Be willing to enter the heart of the challenge
* Stay connected: Keep everyone informed no matter the obstacles
* Step into the breach: Develop leaders and team members able to cover one another
* Eliminate friction: Remove conflict and stop it quickly
* Practice resilience: Recover rapidly from any setbacks
* Tenacious creativity: Never give up as there are always more options to try

For me, the power of the book is how Dennis N.T. Perkins and Jillian Murphy combine the historical details of the tragic 1998 Sydney to Hobart Ocean Race with the teamwork lessons learned from the crew of the AFR Midnight Rambler. The authors describe the severe weather, high wind, and towering wave challenges faced by skipper Ed Psaltis and his six crew members. The authors take a fresh approach to the race events, and focuses on the teamwork skills that made the skipper and crew so successful despite the overwhelming odds.

The author examines the way the skipper and crew behaved during the race, and how they faced the crisis presented by the ocean storm. Along with the lessons in teamwork, the author also discovered another way of looking at leadership, and how the burden can be shared by various members of the team. For teamwork during times of severe adversity, the teamwork principles demonstrated by the crew were the difference between life and death. In the end, their team concept led to their ultimate success in the race.

I highly recommend the insightful and excellent team development book Into the Storm: Lessons in Teamwork from the Treacherous Sydney to Hobart Ocean Race by Dennis N.T. Perkins, with Jillian B. Murphy, to any team leaders and developers at all levels of ant organization, who are seeking a clear and concise examination of the most effective team building principles for navigating successfully through times of crisis and adversity. The concepts utilized by the skipper and crew of the AFR Midnight Rambler are readily transferable to any team, regardless of the project or circumstances.