Being Right Doesn't Make You a Better Leader

Change your mind or lose your legacy

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“Damn the ice, full speed ahead.”

Captain Edward Smith knew exactly what he was doing. He had received six ice warnings that day. His wireless operators had practically begged him to slow down. Even his officers looked nervous as the captain maintained full speed through a moonless night in iceberg territory.

Smith wasn’t stupid. He was an experienced captain with an impeccable record, but he also had a reputation to maintain. The RMS Titanic was on its inaugural voyage, and Bruce Ismay, the White Star Line's managing director, was breathing down his neck. He wanted to make headlines by arriving in New York ahead of schedule. The Titanic was the greatest ship ever built; slowing down would make the captain look weak.

You know how this story ends. At 11:40 PM on April 14, 1912, the ship struck an iceberg. Within three hours, over 1,500 people died in the cold Atlantic.

Here’s the thing that gets me: Smith had all the information he needed to change his mind. But inst…