A good captain never shouts 

We were sitting on the boat at the dock one day when two sailboats came into the yacht club at the same time.

The first had a captain and four crew members, all dressed in matching T-shirts, looking very sharp. A strong crosswind was blowing, making it difficult to tie up. The captain had positioned the crew well, each with an extra fender to fend off if needed. Everything looked in order, until a sudden gust of wind pushed the boat off course.

The captain increased motor speed to counter the wind and barked at the crew to fend off. As things got trickier, he shouted to one crew member at the bow to jump onto the wharf and told another to throw them a line.

It was quite a scene—crew scrambling, voices raised, bodies moving fast to get the boat finally tied up.

The second boat had just two people onboard: the captain and one crew member. They saw the challenge. On the first and second approaches, the wind caught the bow and they had to abort. On the third attempt, the captain brought the boat in smoothly and tied up without a problem.

I remember Dave’s expression as he watched. There was a wink of admiration in his face. When I asked him what he thought, he simply said, “A captain never shouts. The first boat was an embarrassing spectacle. The second was a quiet victory.”

Conclusion: aim for quiet victories.