The Burning Platform
You are a superintendent on an oil-drilling platform in the North sea, off the coast of Scotland. At midnight, you are woken up by an explosion. The whole rig is on fire. You run to the edge of the platform. You realize you are 150 feet up. Below are icy waters. Behind you is a rig ravaged by fire.
You are in a dilemma. If you don’t jump, you will be burnt alive. If you jump, you have to survive the fall first. If you survive the jump, you may have twenty minutes before you freeze to death. You are not sure if there is a rescue ship in the vicinity.
Amidst all the alarms, screams and fire, you don’t have time to think and make a decision. What will you do?
In July 1988, Andy Mochan had to make that decision on a burning rig. He jumped!
He was one of the lucky 63 crew members who were rescued. 163 of the crew and 2 rescuers died.
Later in the hospital he was asked why he took that potentially fatal leap into the icy waters. He said, ‘It was either jump or fry’. He chose possible death over certain death!
Normally, one wouldn’t do it. But it wasn’t normal time. It was fire or freeze. A burning platform had caused a radical change in his behaviour!
Since then, the term ‘Burning Platform’ burnt itself into the annals of management literature. Only when we are confronted by the dire consequences of not changing do we embrace change.
Burning Platform is certainly motivating but it leaves you with little time to explore alternative choices. You only end up rolling the dice and taking your chances!
Whoever you are or whatever you do, look out for Burning Platforms in life and in business that may need your urgent and courageous attention and action. Figure out the negative consequences of not changing. And jump!
It makes more sense to anticipate a crisis and change your behaviour well before the explosion. If you wait for a Burning Platform, you may be lucky like Andy Mochan.
But then, you may be one of the other 163 who stayed on the rig and found out it was too late!