DELIVERING THE WOW, by Richard Fain

5 Five years ago, I happily ditched the corporate world. So what on Earth am I doing reading a business book? The answer to that is that Royal Caribbean Group Chairman Richard Fain’s Delivering the WOW is no typical business book. I’m not glazing over through chapters dissecting statistical analytics, operating systems, the stock market, and digital platforms. Instead, I’m learning about the fascinating evolution of Royal Caribbean from a little side-arm of the near-bankrupt Norwegian company Gotaas-Larsen Shipping Corporation to the global cruising powerhouse it is today. Fain joined Gottas-Larsen as treasurer in the mid-1970s — a time when Royal Caribbean operated three ships, each carrying only 720 guests. Soon after, the company, desperate to raise cash, looked to their all-but-forgotten cruise division as a possible lifeline. From that moment, we join Fain as he is awed by the cruise industry, first with the stretching of Song of Norway to accommodate a mind-blowing (at that time) 1,040 guests, through the three decades of innovation that followed. RELATED: CEO Richard Sasso Creates an Unselfish World  And that’s the beauty of Delivering the WOW. Fain’s voice throughout isn’t one of a lecturer educating his audience but that of a student who is learning along with his readers. We are there in the early days as he grasps the potential of the cruise industry and marvels at the technical aspects of Royal Caribbean’s growing fleet. We watch as Fain envisions revolutionary concepts and brings them to fruition, no matter the obstacles, and we cheer him on as he demonstrates devotion to his executives, employees, and crew.  Royal Caribbean fans, in particular, will be dazzled by Fain’s revealing stories, like the logic behind Sovereign of the Seas’ five-level atrium and the design and engineering challenges it posed, and why the signature rock-climbing wall is such a valued feature aboard Royal Caribbean ships even though only 10 percent of guests ever scurry up it. Those incredible floating platforms aboard Celebrity Edge? They originated simply as a way for guests to easily board the ship’s tenders.  We suffer with Fain through the covid years, when the company faced not only financial challenges but the logistical nightmare of getting 40,000 crew members home to 90 different countries. But we celebrate with him too, standing right alongside when the $2 billion, 250,000 grt Icon of the Seas (the biggest WOW, literally) is delivered on November 27, 2023 in Turku, Finland. Fain is the first to admit that Royal Caribbean’s success and innovation stems from collaboration, not only with the outside designers, engineers, and shipyards contracted to bring ideas to life, but with Royal Caribbean staff and crew whose opinions are routinely solicited and who, more than a few times, caught what could have been serious boo-boos in the design of major ship features. I suppose in some ways Delivering the WOW is a business book — each chapter ends with a listing of “key business takeaways” that could apply to any industry — but it’s abundantly clear that it’s the absorbing tales of the ships, the industry, and the crew that are Fain’s real focus. Why else would chapters open with the quirky origins of nautical terms like “Shipshape,” “Gross Ton,” “Feeling Blue,” “All Hands On Deck,” and more, and not some lame snippets about systems theory or contingency management? Delivering the WOW just might appeal to corporate types looking to delve into Fain’s vision, passion, resilience, and courage, but if you ask me, the cruise fan — even those who can’t tell a business model from a fashion model — is the real audience. Because this fascinating, beautifully written book was so obviously written by one of us! Delivering the WOW publishes on October 21, 2025, and is available on amazon.com
Appeared first on: Porthole.com