A Sudden Shark Attack
In 2023, there were only 36 unprovoked shark attacks in America per the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File, of which only one was fatal. The state of California had only two occurrences. When you look at the total number of beach-goers who are in the water, such an incident is extraordinarily rare.
But on Sunday morning, June 2, 2024 in the city of Del Mar, an attack was about to happen to a group of a dozen swimmers off the Southern California coast.
An unnamed 46-year-old man was bitten multiple times on left arm, hand, and torso. What saved his life was punching the shark in the nose before being rescued by fellow members of his swimming group. One of the group’s members, Jenna Veal, said in this article, “He punched it in the face. He punched it in the nose. I do know he had a gash on his hand from a shark’s tooth.”
Once the swimmers got the victim back to the beach, an emergency doctor who happened to be walking on the beach provided assistance before he was transported to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla. Veal added, “There is a massive all-hands-on-deck movement of support today.”
The Leadership Lessons
There are two primary lessons I get from this story.
First, leaders must engage the situation and address the issue. The victim did not survive the attach by being passive but rather, when the problem presented itself, he punched it in the nose. Someone reading this needs to address the issue and proverbially “punch it in the nose.”
Second, when faced with an overwhelming problem, you need help from a qualified team. It should be “a massive all-hands-on-deck movement of support.”
Conclusion
This California swimmer survived a shark attack by proactively engaging the issue and getting help from a supporting team. Someone reading this needs to implement a similar strategy today.
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