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Dr. Grier blogs about Narcissism and other current topics.>
Part Three -- Uncharted Waters
November 28, 2009
So you and I are entering uncharted waters.
How about if we explore what that means in greater detail, and then why don't we look at how that affects our view of the hiring process.
But before we do that, what has happened to others before us who have entered the "Uncharted Waters" of their time?
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In the 15th century, the conventional wisdom is that the world is flat. That the water far to the west of Europe is boiling hot. That the continent of Atlantis has sunk beneath the waves. Kipernik and Galileo have not yet made their discoveries that the earth is spinning and circles the sun.
There is evidence that contradicts the conventional wisdom. Stories of green islands and strange lands, and reeds like those in India floating to the shores of Portugal. This evidence and his own experience as a sailor convince Christopher Columbus that he can reach the Indies and China by sailing west.
Columbus has left his home country of Italy and lives in Portugal. He convinces the Portuguese King that China can be reached by sailing west, but instead of commissioning Columbus the King sends his own sailors. But the sailors, in uncharted waters, panic after only a few days and return to the safety of the coast, claiming there is no land in that direction.
Columbus moves to Spain and tries to gain the support of the Queen. But the learned men of Spain “know” that the earth is flat. Nearly branded a heretic and labeled crazy, years pass. Only after Columbus decides to leave Spain and never return does the Queen agree to support his voyage to the west.
The sailors onboard the three vessels led by the Santa María do not want to go with Columbus but are forced into service by the Crown. Convinced they will never return, the sailors lament that they are being forced to sail in uncharted waters.
On the 3rd of August 1492 Columbus leads his expedition west. On the 6th of September the three ships depart the Canary Islands. Through the uncharted waters, only is Columbus unwavering in his belief that land lies to the west, and sixty-seven days later the Santa María, the Pinta, and the Niña drop anchor off the Bahamas.
They have discovered the New World.
Columbus’ reward for successfully sailing uncharted waters and changing forever the course of history? Resentment, jealousy, imprisonment. Forgotten, uncared for, he dies in poverty.
(See The Story of Liberty by Charles C. Coffin, Maranatha Publications (Florida 1987), pp 97-122 for the full story of Columbus.)
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Is our journey into uncharted waters in this moment of our history as momentous as the journey taken by Columbus? I suggest the answer is, “You better believe it!”
The difference is that you and I are not leading the journey, planting a flag in a new land. Instead, you and I are followers, left to navigate the rapids of the roiling waters and ultimately to “chart” the way through something new. We have to make sense of what those flags in a new land mean for the future, our future.
As we venture forth, we should remember the lessons of Columbus: When we enter uncharted waters few will want to follow, few will go willingly, many will complain, and in the end we will face the denial of those who believe the conventional wisdom that the old ways will always hold true.
Are you ready for a journey into uncharted waters? To propose a new way of doing business that might fly in the face of convention?
I do not know exactly where this journey will take us.
But I do know that the current way of hiring people into the workplace has to change if we are to make sure that we bring in people with the temperament and abilities that will strengthen our organizations.
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