I’ve spent very little time on writing articles directly related to my nom-de-plume.

There are 3 main reasons behind this.

1. Most* of my “Bad Captain” thinking is fuelled by negative workplace, management and team experiences and I’ve not had any for a long time.
2. I have a backlog of 70+ more valuable articles and ideas already without adding pirate concepts into the mix.
3. There are plenty of articles already discussing pirates and management on the web, why re-invent the wheel!

*The rest is probably fuelled by cider, rum and late-night ramblings with close friends – think “Father Jack with earrings”

So as I make final preparations for a dawn raid at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City and a week at Agile 2011 I’ve been digging out some reading material…

Here’s a quick pick-through of piratical management articles (“pirarticles”) I’ve found on the web so far plus a couple of potential reads to add to my “booklog” (thanks @MarkDalgarno for that very sticky term last week).

Articles

Some short articles for when my cognitive load means I don’t have space for anything more plus one or 2 that are more formal.

• Octopuns – Because it made me smile
• What Pirates Knew About Management
• Top Ten Pirate Booty On Project Management – great selection of pirarticles – (again, why reinvent the wheel.)
• Top 7 Management Secrets of Blackbeard The Pirate
• A Pirate’s Life For Me – on employee healthcare
• Startup Metrics for Pirates – very tentative pirate reference in this one.
• Pirate Management – a summary of a pirate’s business model
• The Pirate And Mafia Models of Corporate Management

Books

I’ve not read either of these, I’d be interested in some reviews from people that have done but for now they’re going onto the booklog.

• The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates
• The Pirate Inside

Music

• Pressgang – Not directly about Pirates per-se but they do belt out a few amazing seafaring related folk-rock stories.

A little history (not much)

• Devon’s Finest Pirate  – Sir Francis Drake
• The Pirate’s life for me – on Captains Kidd & Culliford
• The Dread Pirate Roberts – You can’t write about pirates without at least one nod to The Princess Bride.

Deadly Serious:

A reminder that whilst my moniker is a light-hearted dig at my appearance and occasional nocturnal ramblings, there’s a whole other side to “real” pirates…

• Best Management Practice 3 – Piracy off the Coast of Somalia and Arabian Sea Area