Partners in the hazard of life

Otago_bark_1869-2
Painting of the barque Otago (which Conrad captained 1888–9) from the cover of The Mirror of the Sea. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons.)

The Mirror of the Sea, Joseph Conrad’s book about people, ships and the sea, is full of good things, even if you’re only really interested in people. Here he discusses handling ships and dealing with people—this passage is what I used to think about when being trained in communication, assertiveness, management techniques and the like on work courses. Nothing in the HR-approved training material ever came close. Continue reading