Wildman Whitehouse and the Great Failure of 1858

n the 1850s, Edward Orange Wildman Whitehouse was appointed the lead engineer of the first attempt to build a trans-Atlantic telegraph cable. With the entire population of two continents waiting for his go-live, their handlebar moustaches aquiver, he demonstrated in fine form just how spectacularly a big project can be a bigger disaster.

Transcript

1. Wildman Whitehouse and the Great Failure of 1858
2. Everyone is Wrong Except Me, The Best Scientist In the World or...
3. Lilly Ryan @attacus_au
4. Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. Søren Kierkegaard
10. 'Tis done! The angry sea consents, The nations stand no more apart; With claspéd hands the continents, Feel the throbbing of each other’s hearts. Speed, speed the cable, let it run, A loving girdle round the earth, Till all the nations neath the sun Shall be as brothers of one hearth. Anonymous, 1858
13. Queen Victoria (not amused)
16. Dr. Edward Orange Wildman Whitehouse
18. William Thomson
19. Cross-section of the first Transatlantic Telegraph Cable
36. [...] A great responsibility rests upon those who have in any way contributed to the failure of this enterprise; but for my own part, I can safely say, that neither zeal, labour, caution, nor anxiety, was wanting upon the part of EDWARD ORANGE WILDMAN WHITEHOUSE ROYAL INSTITUTION, ALBEMARLE STREET, September 27, 1858.
37. [...] A great responsibility rests upon those who have in any way contributed to the failure of this enterprise; but for my own part, I can safely say, that neither zeal, labour, caution, nor anxiety, was wanting upon the part of EDWARD ORANGE WILDMAN WHITEHOUSE ROYAL INSTITUTION, ALBEMARLE STREET, September 27, 1858.
39. Open-mindedness is crucial
40. Treat feedback sensitively
41. "Regardless of what we discover, we understand and truly believe that everyone did the best job they could, given what they knew at the time, their skills and abilities, the resources available, and the situation at hand." Norm Kerth Project Retrospectives: A Handbook for Team Review
42. No room for “heroes”
43. 1. Open-mindedness is crucial 2. Treat feedback sensitively 3. Remember the Prime Directive 4. No room for “heroes”
49. Thanks