Many employees feel they are on a sinking ship -- with their lives heading straight for an iceberg, according to a leading US management consultant.

According to Norm Bossio, workers are the ones steering the ship and can watch out for the icebergs on the horizon and avoid them.

This was the theme of his quirky talk called "How to Motivate Yourself on the Titanic'' he gave last week to the Bermuda Chapter of the International Association of Administrative Assistants.

A group of personal assistants, office managers and secretaries heard that it is not unusual for workers to feel overwhelmed by their environment in a day-long seminar.

Mr. Bossio, who runs Norm Bossio Enterprises and gives `technical assistance' to companies from XEROX to the Blue Cross, Macey's and General Motors, told over 170 women and men at the Southampton Princess they could stop feeling overwhelmed and avoid that `sinking feeling' if they knew how to identify problems -- before they become problems.

He tours the world giving talks on motivation, leadership, team building, decision making, personnel policies, time management, stress management, conflict management, performance appraisal and change and problem solving.

His talk last week was divided up into four sections, Why does it take so long to change course? Iceberg ahead! Now What? We're sinking? Relax and Take a Deep Breath.

"Many workers feel overwhelmed,'' he said after the talk. "The analogy of a ship -- like the Titanic -- is a good one. Many workers feel they are on a ship that is sinking.

"But you have to remember that you are the one steering that ship, and yes there are icebergs out there, and you can look around for them or stay below and worry about them.'' His talk dealt with how to deal with change, how to become a good leader and how to balance work and home and deal with stress.

He said many people wasted a lot of energy worrying about things they could not control, and doing complicated balancing and juggling acts.

"There are type a and type b personalities -- there are some people who put out fires for a living, and others that set fires for a living. But what we have to understand is that we are not the victims.'' He said he would not be in so much demand if workers did not genuinely feel overwhelmed at work, and seminars like the one last week confirm that the feeling is universal.

"I am not from Bermuda, and do not know the customs and the people here. But I have learned a lot about people over the years, and I found that we do have so much in common, you just had to see that in the room.'' He said that so many people had their priorities wrong, treating the customer better than their families, and this was a global problem.

"We are all brothers, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters. My talks are about passion and indifference.'' He said that there was a need for closure for many employees, a need to be finished, to be done. But the next day there is always more work to be done.

"Leadership is an art form, management is a science,'' and while he promised no quick fix solutions, he said that people had to take the course of their own ship and steer it safely through the waters of life.

Mr. Bossio's talk was so successful, he has already been contacted by several Bermudian companies to return to the Island to host more seminars.