One of the most important parts of communication is listening--not just hearing information, but taking it in and considering what it might mean, and then responding and acting on that information. The quality of an organization's listening skills may determine its eventual success or failure. History has provided plenty of examples of the disastrous results that can occur due to failures to listen. Here are two:

The Titanic

There is perhaps no better-known at-sea disaster than that of the Titanic, which sank during its maiden voyage after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic. The tragedy that killed over 1,500 people has been the subject of many books and films. One reason why it might be so memorable and noteworthy was because of the messages sent to the Titanic that may have prevented the tragedy--if they had been listened to.

On the fateful night of the accident, April 14, 1912, the wireless radio operators on the Titanic, Jack Phillips and Harold Bride, had been sent multiple warnings of icebergs in the waters ahead. The operators passed these messages along to the bridge. But this is where quality listening seems to have created a problem. Captain Edward J. Smith did alter his course slightly, but he did not slow the ship down--either not understanding the warnings or not taking them seriously. A big part of Jack Phillips and Harold Bride's duties were to send passenger telegrams, and it is said that they were extremely busy that evening sending and receiving social messages for passengers. More serious warnings from other ships arrived--the Mesaba warned of not just icebergs, but an ice field. This message was never given to the bridge. Then, the liner Californian reported having to stop after being completely surrounded by ice.

At what may have been the Titanic crew's last chance to listen to warnings and take appropriate action, Jack Phillips instead scolded the Californian for interrupting him while he was so busy handling passenger messages.

The failure to listen to warnings, to seek to understand the messages and to investigate further, and ultimately the failure to take appropriate action resulted in the collision with an iceberg that ultimately sank the ship.

Tenerife Airport Disaster

On March 27, 1977, Los Rodeos Airport on the Spanish island of Tenerife was handling an overwhelming number of flights after terrorists had set off a bomb at a different airport, Gran Canaria Airport. This resulted in Gran Canaria airport temporarily closing and many flights being diverted to Los Rodeos. Los Rodeos airport was too small to accommodate all the diverted flights and was packed with so many aircraft, the only taxiway was blocked. This forced departing planes to taxi on the runway instead. Air traffic control was busy handling many more flights than they were accustomed to. To make matters worse, there was a thick fog that day, which made visibility difficult for both pilots and air traffic control.

The disaster took place when air traffic control told a KLM flight to taxi down the runway and then make a turn to get into takeoff position. The pilot, Jacob VanZanten, was eager to leave. His crew was almost over the allowed on-time duty, and if they didn't take off soon, they'd have to stay in Tenerife. Air traffic control instructed the KLM flight to taxi and prepare for takeoff.

As the KLM flight was heading down the runway, a PanAm flight was instructed to follow behind the KLM plane and prepare for its takeoff. The crew was unclear about what exit they were supposed to take and asked for clarification. The controller responded, "The third one, sir; one, two, three; third, third one." The exits were unmarked, and in the fog, visibility was low. This was perhaps the first listening mistake made that day. Listening involves more than just hearing words, it also involves understanding what the person is trying to say. If the controller had understood that the PanAm flight was confused about the exit and had given them better directions, this disaster may have been avoided.

However, this disaster wouldn't have happened at all if it weren't for a second listening failure. Back on the KLM flight, the crew radioed that they were ready for takeoff and waiting for clearance. The crew was given instructions to give the route that the aircraft was to follow after takeoff. It had not been given clearance. As the first officer read the instructions, Captain VanZanten heard him read "we are now at takeoff", to which VanZanten interrupted and said, "We're going."

The air traffic controller, who could not see the runway because of the fog, responded with, "Okay." It is believed that this reinforced Captain VanZanten's belief that they were cleared for takeoff. The controller then added, "Standby for takeoff, I will call you." Unfortunately, a simultaneous call from the PanAm flight caused interference on the radio so that all that was heard on the KLM flight was a shrill sound. The PanAm call was to let the control tower know that they were still taxiing down the runway.

Neither crew could see the other plane due to the fog. As the KLM flight approached takeoff speed, the crews on the two planes finally spotted one another. An attempt was made to avoid a collision, but by this time the KLM flight was traveling too fast to maneuver in time. The two planes collided, destroying both planes and killing 583 people.

Listening failures

While listening failures at your organization may not cause the catastrophic consequences of the Titanic, we all want to avoid misunderstandings and ignored warnings that may cost time and money and may affect the quality of our work. Collecting continuous feedback and then using that information will show that your organization is incorporating the art of listening at a level that was missing in these disasters.

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