I was fortunate recently to spend a few days in Stockholm, Sweden, and I can tell you that, among other things, it was one of the sunniest places to visit.
Putting aside the actual purpose of the visit, we were able to spend some time navigating this beautiful country and enjoying the friendly confines of this historically important city. Did I say that the sojourn occurred during their mid-summer holiday? Midsummer time is a fabulous but odd time to visit as all the citizens bolt out of the city to spend the never-ending days of solstice away at a summer place or waterfront cabin. The much-anticipated holiday, which takes place in the Northern Hemisphere, is near the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year. Hint: The sun does not set until 3:30 am on that day, and it rises a couple of hours later.
Let us get to the fun stuff. We managed to squeeze in a visit to the Royal Palace and National Museum and saw several other places of interest, including the Vasa Museum.
What is the Vasa Museum? Excellent question. In a sentence, the museum was built to keep on display the legend of the famous Vasa ship. It is the proud home and final resting spot of the Vasa, and the over one million visitors a year make it one of the most popular destinations in all of Sweden.
The Vasa was a Swedish warship that was built over two years from 1626 to 1628 and was launched on August 10, 1628. The warship was not just any ship, it was a gigantic and majestic ship ordered by the King of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus.
The King was extremely ambitious and busy fighting wars against Poland and Lithuania. He wanted to make a statement about Sweden’s naval power and growing military prowess. The King ordered that the Vasa be built as the largest ship Sweden had ever seen. The King ordered that this ship be grand, bold, and ornate, and he wanted to highlight some firepower. To impress, the King himself ordered twice as many cannons in the Vasa.
Under the strict requests of the King, the Vasa was decorated with thousands of ornaments and special moldings, and it was a real showpiece for the world to see. This ship was made to be a statement piece for the world to see and envy.
The Vasa was decorated with symbols of the monarch and had thousands of sculptures embedded in the ship which was used to intimidate the enemies. The symbols were taken from the Renaissance ideas of Rome and Greek antiquity. German and Dutch artists were retained to create figures like mermaids, sea monsters and vivid characters. Mosaics and large pictures graced every open space on board. There were over five hundred heavy sculptures on the high stern and the galleries and endless displays of art and pictures. At least six artists worked for over 2 years to create the necessary artwork. Are you getting the picture?
Getting back to the King’s desire for more fantastic firepower, he specifically ordered that seventy-two 24-pound guns be installed on the Vasa. The problem is that all ships up to that time had a one-level gun deck. The order of seventy-two cannons was twice the accepted number, requiring a second gun deck to be constructed. The King ordered this change five months into construction. Sensing a problem yet?
On that fateful day, the Vasa launched, and after traveling 1,400 yards, it sunk immediately into Stockholm Harbor. Let us slow down the tape and repeat that—after being meticulously built for 2 years by the world’s absolute best builders, engineers, and designers, who spent 24 months pouring in the best of their crafts, their work sank like a stone just moments after the much-celebrated launch.
A further fact about the sinking of the Vasa is that while the ship sunk quickly, her mast was left protruding out of the water to remind daily the everyday citizens of this epic and horrible embarrassment.
So, why did it sink? In short, the ship was built too high and too narrow, and the original design did not call for two gun decks. Even worse, the gun decks were initially designed to house 12-pound guns, not the 24-pound version.
In plain language, the ship’s weight distribution, mainly the hull itself, was too top-heavy. Had the engineers fully understood ballasts and weight distribution at this scale, they could have forecast this disaster and made significant changes to the weight and height of this behemoth.
You need to understand that shipbuilding in the 17th century featured extremely high platforms so that they could use the upper platforms as firing platforms. While this ship was not the largest or biggest ship ever made, with the seventy-two 24-pound cannons, it did feature the greatest firing potential of any ship ever built.
On August 10, 1628, Captain Sofring Hansson took control and ordered the Vasa to depart. A slight breeze filled the sails on the first voyage, and the ship heeled to port. The ship righted itself, and a stronger wind forced the ship portside. The open gun decks filled with water and quickly sank 105 feet. Thirty sailors died as many from the banks watched in horror, including foreign ambassadors, allies, and enemies alike.
The aftermath led to an inquiry that had no conclusion. Blame was looking for a home, and the chief engineer was the first target, followed by the captain and the crew’s fitness. Legend has it that the chief engineer was from Holland, and he left with one year left on the project. The engineering job fell to his wife as she tended to the unfinished business. After the inquisition came up empty, the shipbuilders were examined, and they simply said that the narrow ship was built to the King’s recommendation. In fact, the builders added seventeen inches to the narrow width, which was not enough to help right this ship. In reality, one did not have to look beyond the royal throne to fasten blame for this national calamity, but this was not the time in history to be so bold and daring.
In the end, there was a significant fallout. For the next twenty years, Dutch shipwrights went unused. The Swedes were looked at with great derision and skepticism when discussing military might. The Vasa lay fallow in the water for over three hundred years before being engineered out of the Harbor and painstakingly reconstructed to be on display. It would take many years to erase this horrific chapter from their lives. But who was to blame?
The real problem was the King’s ego and his subjects’ lack of courage to alert him of warning signs that led to this unmitigated national disaster. And there is the tale of the mighty Vasa.
Lessons learned that we could apply to modern life and today’s politics.
1. The leader of an organization should not and cannot micromanage every detail.
2. Hubris and ego cannot be the starting points for any campaign.
3. The staff and underlings must be able to speak up and address and fix any mistakes.
4. Accountability in any organization must be a central pillar.
5. Leaders must take responsibility and lead from the front if mistakes are made.
6. Sometimes, going with what works is better than trying to be faster, better, and flasher than your competitor.
7. You need to chart and engineer a pathway forward using logic, science, and reason and not want something just for the sake of wanting it and have no clear corridor forward.
A few fun facts told to us by some friendly residents of Sweden:
Sweden is home to some of the world’s largest and most impactful companies: Volvo, Ericsson, H&M, ABB, Spotify, and HOKA, to name but a few.
Sweden is home to many fabulous inventions, including the pacemaker, Tetra Pak, three-point seat belts, ultrasound/ECG, HIV Tracker, zipper, and the all-important adjustable wrench.
Sweden has 97,700 lakes.
Sweden comprises 267,570 islands and has the most islands of any country.
Sweden is regarded as the healthiest country in the European Union, followed by Norway and Moldova.
Sweden has a 25% VAT tax, which is lowered for some goods and services and exempt for pharmaceuticals, financial services, and health care. Food sales are taxed at 12%.
The income tax averages around 24%, but it can go up as high as 60%.
Childcare is free.
College is free.
Health care is free, but some complain about the wait time.
Moms can take birth-related leave for two years for each child and receive 80% pay.
College students receive a 400-dollar monthly stipend and can apply for six hundred dollars more.
The musical group ABBA has its own museum and is its most popular group.
They are famous for their authentic meatballs, which must be served with boiled potatoes, gravy, and lingonberry jam.
The Swedish currency is the Krona (not to mistaken for Chronos a mysterious character in the movie, The Incredibles).
Sweden is home to 10.3 million residents.
Sweden is the recycling king – only 1% of their waste ends up in a landfill.
Parting shot: Many of us can point to our Vasa moment when we committed too much, dreamed too aggressively, and wanted larger for the sake of larger, but hopefully, by this time, we have all come to accept that we can’t defy the laws of gravity (or politics).
Goddag!