---
title: "The Company is a Ship, and We Are All on Board"
description: "The company is like a ship; when you join it, you become a crew member. Whether the ship returns fully loaded or runs aground depends on whether you work together with all other crew members. This article emphasizes the importance of treating the company as your own, sharing weal and woe with the boss, and being an owner rather than a passenger."
author: "李双双"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2016-08-13"
language: "en"
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markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/the-company-is-a-ship-and-we-are-all-on-board-b393aa9c.md"
original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/wNWty-CJfKRyovqcQ8NDHg"
translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E5%85%AC%E5%8F%B8%E6%98%AF%E8%88%B9-%E6%88%91%E4%BB%AC%E6%AF%8F%E4%B8%80%E4%B8%AA%E4%BA%BA%E9%83%BD%E5%9C%A8%E8%88%B9%E4%B8%8A-b393aa9c.md"
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# The Company is a Ship, and We Are All on Board

> The company is like a ship; when you join it, you become a crew member. Whether the ship returns fully loaded or runs aground depends on whether you work together with all other crew members. This article emphasizes the importance of treating the company as your own, sharing weal and woe with the boss, and being an owner rather than a passenger.

The company is a ship. When you join a company, you become a crew member on this ship. Whether the ship returns fully loaded or runs aground depends on whether you work together with all other crew members, sharing weal and woe.

An entrepreneur was asked why he liked sailing. His answer was that sailing and running a business have strong similarities: the development of a company requires the joint efforts of all employees, just as a ship needs all crew members to perform their duties and cooperate to reach the destination smoothly.

**A Shared Ship**

"Sharing weal and woe" has been a highly respected concept since ancient times. We have been constantly telling our partners: we must all establish the concept that "this is our ship."

That is to say, everyone should regard the company they serve as a ship, their own ship. Only then will you do your utmost to contribute your strength, complete tasks proactively, efficiently, and enthusiastically, and build your own "ship" with heart. Also, treat your superiors and colleagues as partners who share weal and woe with you; you are collaborators on the same ship. Only when everyone does their own job well will the ship move forward.

Everyone's fate will be tightly bound to this ship, sharing life and death with it. Therefore, you must not only contribute all your abilities to your ship but also protect it from breaking down midway.

This is what we emphasize as the "owner spirit." Former Intel CEO Andy Grove was once invited to give a speech to graduates of the University of California, Berkeley. In his speech, he offered the following advice: "No matter where you work, don't treat yourself as an employee; instead, regard the company as your own. Your own career is only in your hands. No matter when, your cooperation with the boss ultimately benefits you as well."

However, this mindset is rare in today's workplace. Many people think: "The company belongs to the boss; I'm just working for the boss. No matter how much I contribute or how well I perform, the boss always gets the benefits."

If you have friends in the military, or if you know something about the military, you will change this unreasonable view. Every soldier knows clearly that he must share weal and woe with his officers and comrades; otherwise, his chances of survival would greatly decrease. On the battlefield, it means life and death; every mistake could mean death. Without the wisdom of the officers and the cooperation and cover of comrades, you cannot complete a mission alone.

We often say "the business world is like a battlefield," and this principle applies in business as well.

In business, a mistake may not necessarily mean death, but no boss likes such things to happen repeatedly. Moreover, if the company you work for does not develop well, your personal interests will be affected; if the company goes bankrupt, you will have to find a new job.

Therefore, your interests are aligned with the company's interests, and the company's development is the foundation for your personal interests and future.

Thus, we say the company is like a ship; it requires all crew members (employees) to go all out and cooperate to row the ship to the other side of success. At the same time, this ship carries its crew (employees), preventing them from falling into the sea.

In fact, both the boss and employees are members of this ship, just with different roles and responsibilities. On the company ship, the boss is the captain. This position gives him not only power but also responsibility: he must consider the ship's course, avoid reefs or icebergs, and ensure the safety of all on board.

Once you join a company, it's like boarding a ship. Your only choice is to fulfill your duties conscientiously. Everyone must do the same to ensure the ship doesn't encounter problems midway, because no one wants the ship to break down in the vast ocean or have accidents.

In this sense, employees are also masters of the company. The rise and fall of the company is not only directly related to the personal interests of every employee but also rests on every employee. Therefore, once you board the company ship, you must share the company's fate and share weal and woe with the boss. This principle should be understood when you first start working.

**Stay, Don't Jump Ship**

Sharing weal and woe with the boss means not only sharing the joy of success but, more importantly, sharing the boss's worries during difficult times.

There is a story I have read many times, and I am moved every time.

The protagonist is a young man named Finnan, whom we deeply admire. He initially chose to work in a small computer accessory manufacturing company with only twenty or thirty people, and his boss, named Rody, was just a young man three years older than him.

In the third month after Finnan joined, the company received a large order to process 500,000 hard disks for a computer company. For the company at that time, this was already a super order. Whether this order could be completed on time was crucial to the company's future development. The whole company immediately became busy, investing all its funds into this project.

However, the business world is unpredictable. Due to technical shortcomings and management negligence, the hard disks produced had serious quality defects and were all returned. For Finnan's small company, this was an extremely heavy blow. Not only did they fail to make money, but they also owed debts to the bank. When the bank learned the news, it kept coming to press for debt repayment.

Later, even paying for utilities became a problem. But Boss Rody still managed to borrow money from all sides to pay wages. When paying wages, the boss held a meeting, explained the company's predicament, and hoped that employees would work together with him to overcome the difficulties. After learning about the company's situation, many employees immediately resigned. Some employees thought that Rody should bear full responsibility for the company's situation, so they demanded unemployment compensation from Rody.

Among them were people who had previously expressed loyalty to Rody, which deeply hurt him. He signed their compensation agreements without hesitation. Seeing this, those who had not originally planned to ask for compensation also demanded it, and Rody satisfied them all.

But when he walked out of his office, he was surprised to find one person still working quietly. That person was Finnan.

Finnan was actually an employee who usually didn't get close to Rody and rarely talked to him. Rody was very moved and walked up to Finnan, saying, "Why didn't you ask me for compensation? If you want it now, I'll give you double. Although I'm penniless now, I believe my friends will lend me money."

Finnan smiled and said, "I never planned to leave, so why would I ask for compensation? I think the company still has great hope. You are the boss; as long as you are here, the company is here. I am an employee; as long as the company is here, I should stay." Rody was deeply moved and said, "With an employee like you, I should certainly cheer up! But I can't bear to have you suffer with me. I am actually bankrupt. You should find a new job."

"Boss, I am willing to stay and suffer with you. When the company was doing well, I joined. Now that the company is in trouble, if I leave, that would be too immoral. Didn't you just say your friends are willing to help you? If you are willing to accept me as a friend, then let me help you. I can work without pay."

Finnan firmly stayed and lent all his savings to Rody. In the following days, they shifted their business focus and began to sell software on consignment for some software companies. This approach required little investment, and the company soon turned around. More than a year later, the company went from debt to a profit of over ten million dollars.

One day, when they had rare free time, Finnan and Rody were having coffee at a café. Rody said, "During the company's most difficult time, you gave me the greatest help. At that time, I wanted to give you half of the company's shares, but the company was still in trouble, and I was afraid of dragging you down. Now that the company has finally recovered, I think it's time to give it to you. At the same time, I sincerely invite you to be the company's president." As he spoke, Rody handed Finnan both the appointment letter and the stock certificate.

This story deeply touched me. The boss is the one who controls the company's direction and determines its existence. Those who share weal and woe with the boss will surely receive the boss's greatest reward.

**You Are Not a Passenger**

Sharing weal and woe with the boss also includes fulfilling your duties conscientiously, sharing the boss's pressure as much as possible, standing on the same side as the boss, supporting him, and understanding him.

Everyone must remember that on this ship, you are the master, not a passenger! Because if you think of yourself as a passenger, your attitude toward the company will fundamentally change. Once the ship encounters a problem, you will first think of how to escape, rather than finding ways to solve the problem, overcome difficulties, and survive the crisis.

In today's corporate teams, the definition of work scope is actually the minimum scope of what each person should do. Employees with ambition and enthusiasm for their work will never limit themselves to their inherent work scope. They know that to achieve success in their work, they must constantly seek learning opportunities and expand their contributions to the company.

-END-

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