As the media continue to cover the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster, it seems that further revelations come to light. As yet, a proper report needs to be prepared, but certainly the reports to date seem to suggest that procedures were not followed at numerous levels. The cruise and shipping industry seem fairly convinced that most shipping disasters are the result of human error. So far things do not look good for the Captain. The video footage of people attempting to scramble into lifeboats is fairly terrifying and one can only imagine the terror that those aboard must have felt.

One message that seems to be coming from this is that the Costa Concordia seemed to be significantly “off course”. Given all the gadgetry onboard, it will presumably come to light as to why this was the case, if indeed it was. Clearly it must be to some extent, as no course would have been deliberately plotted for the rocks.

This reminded me that even with all the latest technology, disaster can still happen. Indeed one still needs a trained and wise head checking and double-checking. Think of the aeroplane pilot that performs a myriad of checks before and during the flight. In practice, often the aeroplane is on autopilot, but this is not sufficient and a wise head is still required. In a similar way, a good financial plan sets the course, but it needs tweaking and reviewing to ensure that it remains on course. Sometimes the journey is difficult and that is precisely when experience will have significant benefit. It is unwise to simply set a course and not pay attention. Things change, “stuff happens” some within our control and some not. A big part of designing the plan, is to build in the need for reviews to check progress.  Now is the time to review yours if you have not done so lately.

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