He was breathing from the dive leader’s octopus which wasn’t a good sign. We were 20 metres under the sea and just above the bridge of the Um El-Faroud – that spookiest of dive wrecks. What a place to run out of air.
It was October 2021, and I had returned to Malta to reignite my relationship with diving, having been cooped up in Ireland during the pandemic. I was paired with an Aussie who was a veteran diver and would be easy company as we pottered about the wreck. The dive leader, a Norwegian, was looking after a qualified but less experienced Englishman, who we’ll call “Alex.”
The Faroud, as it’s known, was my first wreck dive back in October 1999, and apart from the Blenheim Bomber – sunk off the Maltese coast during World War 2 – no other wreck has come close to being as impressive.
As the four of us descended from the surface twenty five minutes earlier, the hulking tanker gradually loomed into view and had the same eye-popping impact on me as it first had 22 years before. “The drop in temperature at 21.5m was noticeable” was one of my observations from that day in 1999 and was in keeping with its gloomy and controversial reputation. In early 1995 nine dockyard workers lost their lives as a result of a gas explosion while servicing the Libyan-registered oil tanker in Valetta harbour. It was scuttled off Wied iz-Zurrieq in September 1998.
It’s a demanding dive as there are often strong currents and the wreck can be difficult to reach from the shore. And there’s undoubtedly that spook factor about it which can play on the mind. As we slowly made our way back to the surface I thought back through the trip from the dive centre to the site. Alex hadn’t said that much in the van other than that he had recently qualified. Afterwards I learned that he had run out of air due to the challenges of the dive and his lack of dive fitness as opposed to anything going wrong with his equipment. He was cocky and had bitten off more than he could chew, but the dive leader was watching him like a hawk and knew when to intervene.
Increase in complexity and danger
It’s obvious that there’s a level of complexity and danger in diving that differentiates it from other pursuits. As you descend it gets darker and colder, and you begin to experience some mild discomfort as your ears ask to be equalised.
The largest changes in pressure occur between the surface and 10 metres down. Here you need to be at your most cautious as this is the zone where you run the highest risk of suffering a barotrauma – which is defined as the “physical damage suffered to tissue caused by a difference in pressure between air or gas spaces within the body and the surrounding environment.”
The deeper you go, the more air you consume per breath. For example, at 20 metres you breathe three times as much to fill your lungs to normal volume. This goes a long way to explaining why Alex ran out of air. As he wasn’t dive fit, or used to the environment, his breathing rate was well in excess of the more experienced divers in his company.
At around 30 metres you run the risk of nitrogen narcosis. Getting “narked” is similar to drinking spirits on an empty stomach. I’ve seen plenty of divers do stupid things when narked. Indeed I’ve been told that I’ve done some silly things too – punching fish for instance.
On top of the complications due to the physics of diving you also have to factor in the sea life that you’ll encounter – some friendly and some not so friendly.
A lesson for your business
As you scale your business you have one big advantage over the divers on the Faroud. You’re not going to have to do it 30 metres under water. But, you too will suffer similar challenges the deeper you go and the more ambitious you become. Here are a number of lessons that you can learn from the challenges of diving:
1. Preparation
The key to a successful dive is the preparation that takes place in advance. Divers will assess the dive site, the conditions, their equipment and the people they are diving with and make a plan that ensures that everyone comes back in one piece.
If you want to scale your business you too need to work out what you want. Do you want to build a business to sell it, or do you want it to provide for your family through the generations? What do you want to do, and what is your market? Is now the right time to do it? Clarity here drives the decisions that you will make in the future.
2. Training
Divers have to be well-trained in order to deal with the range of scenarios that they will encounter underwater. In order to develop and improve they must practice and upskill regularly.
As you build your business you will need to invest in your people and ensure that they are well-prepared to handle whatever your clients throw at them. With growth comes more complexity and your people will need to be resourced and supported so that they are able to thrive in these environments.
3. Equipment
Dive equipment must be in great condition and regularly maintained. Otherwise a diver could have a life-threatening accident. The more technical and demanding the dive the greater the need for more advanced equipment.
A growing business will stress your processes and systems like nothing else. If you try to do more and more with the same set up everything will eventually topple over, along with your reputation.
4. Staying calm under pressure
Things can go wrong on a dive. Your equipment might not work as you expected, the underwater conditions might change due to currents, or a barracuda could start giving you some unwelcome attention. A panicking diver is a threat to everyone else on the dive. Divers are trained to stay calm and think logically during stressful situations.
Things won’t always be peaches and cream as you grow your business. You will experience high-pressure situations. Make sure that you have the right support around you on these occasions so that you avoid making impulsive and sub-optimal decisions.
5. Adapting to changing conditions
On a dive the visibility could deteriorate, the currents could shift or like Alex, your buddy might run out of air. Divers are always scanning the environment and ready to respond to changing conditions.
Business environments can change overnight and as a leader you must have your finger on the pulse and be ready to shift your approach if its prudent to do so.
6. Changing the mix
Divers who want to extend their bottom time and guard against the risk of decompression sickness use Nitrox – enriched air. This is a mixture that contains a higher percentage of oxygen and a lower percentage of nitrogen than the regular air that you breath – Oxygen (21%) and Nitrogen (79%).
Sometimes your approach stops being effective. To push through and achieve your goal of a thriving and healthy business you too may need to change the mix. This could see you introduce new products and services, hire a different profile of people, say goodbye to clients and make offers into new markets.
What now?
The lessons from diving for business owners who want to grow their business are endless. If you would like to find out more about how you can grow a healthy business then click on one of the links below to arrange a chat. In the meantime you can check out the premium resources page on the website for more insights.
