The Hired Captain

A ship owner hired a captain to sail his vessel. The owner stayed ashore.

The captain, commanding a ship he didn’t own and cargo he hadn’t paid for, took a shorter but riskier route through a storm. If the gamble paid off, he’d arrive early and earn a bonus. If it didn’t, the owner bore the loss.

The owner was furious when the ship returned damaged. The captain shrugged. “You asked me to be fast.”

The problem wasn’t the captain’s character. It was that the rewards and the risks landed on different people.