Apparently, if you’re on a sinking ship it’s better to be American than British. It follows alas, if we’re experiencing a Titanic disaster of the economic variety – and well, we are – things are looking bad for companies sailing with their Union Jack on the fly.
Research by David Savage, behavioural economist at Queensland University of Technology, shows British passengers were 7% less likely to survive the sinking of the Titanic than anyone else. On the other hand, Americans were 8.5% more likely than any other nationality to clamber into a lifeboat and sail into the sunset – or safely towards that horizon, however bleak and grey it was.
With banks being bailed out left, right and centre, and companies sinking fast both in the UK and State-side, allusions to the Titanic are easy to make. But could survival really just be down – as Mr Savage claims – to your regard for order and willingness to wait? It seems that queuing quietly for a lifeboat costs a Briton his life.
Apart from the sinking ship bit, the message is not so bleak, though. It might even be empowering. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Obama or Brown wearing the captain’s hat: each business, British or not, holds its own lifeline.
Adopting an ‘each man for himself’ attitude could well help your business to survive. It could be a case of ‘borrowing’ your competitor’s customers, or maybe squeezing a better deal out of your suppliers. It’s known as elbowing your fellow passenger out of the lifeboat.
Just make sure you don’t step on too many toes: a damaged reputation is one thing that’ll sink you in the long run.
