After years of training across ships and island resorts, I’ve realised something simple: Most learning doesn’t happen when we plan it. It happens when the job forces it. I’ve seen waiters freeze during peak service even after perfect classroom scores. What helped them wasn’t a refresher. It was a supervisor’s one-line correction delivered in the heat of the moment. Those micro-lessons stick differently. During a Phase 2 pre-opening at an Indian Ocean resort, our villa team ke

One thing my years in L&D have taught me is this: In a real crisis, people don’t rely on what they memorised. They rely on the person who stays steady. I saw this in the Maldives, well after the Boxing Day Tsunami. We had all the checklists. Everyone was trained. But one early morning, a sudden surge of water swept across the island. For a fraction of a second, the resort was ankle-deep in seawater. Our Night Manager, usually calm on any shift, was suddenly frantic. Not becau

AI Won’t Replace L&D Leaders—But L&D Leaders Using AI Might. Every L&D leader I know is asking the same question:  “Should we be using...

When a crisis strikes—whether at sea, in a hotel, or even in the office—people don’t just need procedures.  They need people. Not just...

I never thought my next career chapter would involve teaching leadership... 30,000 feet from shore. The most terrifying moment of my...

Onboard a cruise ship, you're surrounded by people from over 60+ nationalities, speaking dozens of languages, practicing diverse...