| American football season has officially started in the United States, with fans wearing their favorite team’s jerseys, painting their faces, and even consuming (in large quantities) beverages that are either endorsed by their teams, or colored to match their jerseys. The latter is particularly foul looking. For the uninitiated, football (the American version) is divided into quarters with coaches urging their players to fight for every point. But in the end, it is winning that counts, not the score at the end of the quarter. With all the changes afoot in shipping today, it is important for our industry to look at the long game and less at the quarterly results. I understand the challenges of meeting shareholder expectations, but isn’t management serving its fiscal responsibility to this demanding group by investing NOW so that the company will benefit in the long run? So how is responsible management to achieve this seemingly utopian state? By playing both offense and defense: OFFENSE - Position your company to be in compliance with upcoming regulations, both written (Sulphur 2020) and unwritten (GHG reduction)
- Optimize your existing resources not only for today, but down the field
- Utilize technology to increase efficiencies in operations, both afloat and ashore
- Build the resiliency of your team to adapt to the new playbook
DEFENSE - Train your team to meet the challenges of today and in the future
- Invest in the long game
- Safeguard your assets from rushing hoards trying to infiltrate your defense and block your play
- Increase communications throughout the team, from the water boy/girl to the head coach
There are winners and there are losers. The winners play their long game—with spectacular results! Keep optimizing, Carleen | 
