April Social Gathering

Speaker	:	Mr. Walda Ip Dip. M, MCIM, Chartered Marketer
Topic	:	Team Building - The Key to Smooth Business Sailing
Date	:	April 2, 2008

Sailing is a unique sport. It is a gentle and relaxing activity under calm conditions; yet a fast pace and active sport where a gust of wind caught in the sail would propel you and your team forward with unimaginable acceleration. Sailors need to adapt to sudden changes quickly. This is no different to today's business environment, according the guest speaker of the April Social Gathering, Mr. Walder Ip, a seasoned sailor and experienced marketer.

Mr. Ip began the social gathering by introducing the most common types of leisure and competitive sailing in Hong Kong: yacht sailing (yachts being the largest kind of sailing vessels), dinghy sailing (typically involving one or two sailors) and wind surfing. Sailing activities are also classified according to the distance of the journey. Off-shore sailing covers a long distance. A common off-shore route for local sailors is from Hong Kong to Hainan Island. In-shore sailing covers a much shorter distance, typically between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

In sailing, team work is held in the highest regard. Sailors each have their distinctive edge, yet they must do their best at his or her allocated position for the team to adapt to versatile weather and seas conditions and excel.

The tacticians respond to weather changes much like the way strategists adapt to changes in the business environment. Sailors stationed at the forehead of the yacht have a clear and practical view of what lies ahead. They can be compared to the sales team. Tackers are responsible for changing the direction of the tack to the wind and ensure the yacht continues to leverage on the wind. In a sense, they are the operations team of a company. Most importantly, the skipper must take on the leadership role to ensure this team bond. He or she needs to lead the crew to safe sailing, much like the Chief Executive Officer of a company.

To be a good team member in a yacht, sailors should possess the following qualities:
1, sufficient technical skills in sailing
2, a distinctive and comparable strength
3, ability to perform assigned tasks; or assign the right people to the right task
4, a strive for self improvement
5, team spirit
6, take ownership of his or her tasks
7, strong understanding of his or her position, and how it impacts on the yacht
8, take risks in times of crisis
9, clear communications with each other

At the end of the gathering, Mr. Ip encouraged participants to draw their own comparisons between the yacht crew and various functions in their workplace.

About the Speaker, Mr. Walder Ip
A keen sailor of over 25 years, Mr. Ip is highly involved in the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, which has over 150-year experience in social and competitive sailing and rowing. A member of the Sailing Committee and the China Event Sub-Committee of the Yacht Club, Mr. Ip is highly involved in racing and organising high profile sailing events in Hong Kong and China.

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