I'll Be Brief: Entry #6
Der Untergang der Titanic by Willy Stöwer, in the public domain.

There’s a time to fight for something, and then there’s a time to acknowledge the painful truth; it’s mortally wounded.

Just as people can’t recognize the difference between an opening skirmish and the final assault during a conflict, they can’t tell when an organization or institution is showing signs of initial illness or a fatal condition.

Most have an “iceberg” moment. Before it hit the iceberg, the Titanic was afloat and discussions about what to do could account for the ship remaining so. But once it hit the iceberg, it was over. It was going to sink no matter what. Discussions about why, and who was to blame, was irrelevant for anyone on board. The focus was on how to get on a lifeboat or survive without one.

A lot of organizations die because the captains ignore the iceberg and only begin to talk of how to save the ship when it’s tipping downward. The smart sailor doesn’t entertain those arguments; he gets on a lifeboat and finds another ship – ideally with a captain who won’t make the same mistake.

To continue with the analogy, the first (First Class) passengers to accept the boat was sinking survived. Third Class passengers got locked below decks, sentenced to go down with a ship whose fate they had no control over.

Know when an institution has hit its iceberg.