I recently listened to a Wharton podcast where a unique perspective on these turbulent times was cited. The book, entitled "Your Job Survival Guide: A Manual For Thriving In Change" by Dr. Gregory Shea and Robert Gunther. This book apparently lays out strategies for dealing with turbulent times. But what really caught my eye (or ears) is the reference to whitewhater versus an ocean liner as a description for work environments today. Let’s take a look.
My thinking is that the world has changed from a world full of ocean liners where we got on at the beginning of our careers and enjoyed a safe and interesting sightseeing tour for many years. By contrast, today’s environment is more and more — albeit almost entirely — of the whitewater variety, where we travel down the stream, encounter very rough waters, an occasional large waterfall, many rocks and shoals along the way.
It takes a different type of person to navigate through challenges on an ocean liner than it does to navigate whitewater challenges. Let’s have a look at some thoughts about ocean liner people and whitewater people working in ocean liner environments or whitewater environments.
1. Ocean liner person in ocean liner environment
This is the old configuration where a dedicated and competent, but somewhat risk-averse professional, is working in a large, steady, challenging, but very secure, organization. This worked for a long time, but, unfortunately, for many, this environment is very rare; so the situation of having an ocean liner person in an ocean liner environment is becoming rare, indeed.
2. Whitewater person in an ocean liner environment
This situation is becoming a little more common, I believe, for the simple reason that the ocean liner environment recognizes that it needs to change to a more whitewater environment. However, there can be tremendous pitfalls here because the whitewater person may not thrive in that ocean liner environment; and, in fact, may become blind-sighted from what he or she sees coming and sees what is needed, but, perhaps, is not being adopted by the leaders within that organization.
3. Ocean liner person in a whitewater environment
This is quite treacherous, indeed. If you have ever in true, physical whitewater you’ll recognize that you do not want to have the wrong boat in this kind of environment! For someone who is very much used to the steady and secure environment, the whitewater can be quite intimidating, indeed. Survival is the issue and any ocean liner person in this environment must recognize that he needs to retool and redefine himself rapidly. It might even be better, if possible, for them to try to retool within an organization that is retooling itself from an ocean liner environment to a whitewater environment.
4. Whitewater person in a whitewater environment
This is tending to be a more and more common configuration today. Things are changing so rapidly that they demand people to change and adapt rapidly also. Those that can retool themselves quickly, identify how they must define themselves and what new approaches they must take are at a premium and are very valuable in this said environment.
I particularly found the concept of ocean liner and whitewater as metaphors for today’s work environment to be very accurate descriptors. The biggest thing is that they point out to all of us the need to constantly adapt and redefine ourselves as the road ahead is sure to be much more akin to the whitewater environment than the ocean liner.
______________________
John Reiling, PMP
Project Management Training Online
Learn Six Sigma Training Online
47 responses so far ↓
1 garment news daily // Sep 9, 2011 at 12:01 pm
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
2 rewfarasfvmsdr // Oct 4, 2011 at 6:53 am
Websites you should visit…
I really liked your blog, appreciate the great information….
3 Electric Bikes // Oct 24, 2011 at 6:07 pm
Great website…
Cool post, I really enjoyed reading it. I will check out your site for some more content on this subject….
4 SEO LOS ANGELES // Oct 28, 2011 at 11:55 am
Websites you should visit…
I really liked your blog, appreciate the great information….
5 Rivka Biggers // Nov 9, 2011 at 2:00 pm
putin army diana video…
[...]content on other blogs so i hope this is enough to collect information and to work on it..[...]…
6 Cain V Junior Dos Santos // Nov 12, 2011 at 9:43 am
news and observer arrests…
[...]great article that everyone should read[...]…
7 LOS ANGELES SEO // Nov 14, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Recommended websites…
Amazing blog! Thanks for the great contribution with this post….
8 Play baccarat online // Nov 16, 2011 at 4:08 pm
Websites worth visiting…
I enjoyed reading your article, many thanks….
9 water conservation gifts // Nov 20, 2011 at 6:43 am
obama approval rating chart…
[...]when he compared the cork cells he saw through his microscope to the small rooms monks lived in[...]…
10 organizacja wesel // Nov 21, 2011 at 8:56 am
newspaper obituary…
[...]The word cell comes from the Latin cellula, meaning, a small room[...]…
11 {pozycjonowanie|pozycjonowanie stron} // Nov 21, 2011 at 3:55 pm
Recent Blogroll Additions…
I saw this really good post today….
12 natural cure to fibromyalgia // Nov 22, 2011 at 1:17 pm
newsletter software…
[...]Notification of usage of image[...]…
13 image host // Nov 24, 2011 at 4:35 pm
Great website…
Cool post, I really enjoyed reading it. I will check out your site for some more content on this subject….
14 Rain-X Wiper Blades // Nov 25, 2011 at 8:53 pm
Recommended websites…
Amazing blog! Thanks for the great contribution with this post….
15 top rated vacuum cleaners 2011 // Nov 26, 2011 at 7:59 am
put in bay rentals…
[...]great article that everyone should read[...]…
16 sterowniki plc // Nov 27, 2011 at 10:11 am
You should check this out…
I saw this really great post today….
17 facebook // Nov 28, 2011 at 6:04 am
Great website…
Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors…
18 Dobre katalogi // Nov 28, 2011 at 3:32 pm
Website worth visiting…
below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit…
19 Dodaj swoją stronę // Nov 28, 2011 at 3:47 pm
Recommeneded website…
below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit…
20 Darmowy katalog // Nov 28, 2011 at 3:58 pm
Website worth visiting…
below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit…
21 Dodaj swoją stronę // Nov 28, 2011 at 5:08 pm
Great website…
Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors…
22 LG LHB336 // Nov 29, 2011 at 3:24 pm
far east organisation board of directors…
[...]soap films are mechanically stable when they meet at angles of 120[...]…
23 Ubezpieczenie komunikacyjne // Nov 29, 2011 at 7:46 pm
Website worth visiting…
below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit…
24 MLM chains // Nov 30, 2011 at 5:38 am
Great website…
Cool post, I really enjoyed reading it. I will check out your site for some more content on this subject….
25 Sony BDVE280 // Nov 30, 2011 at 9:03 am
far east movement like a g6…
[...]perfect here means the lowest-energy configuration[...]…
26 Anno 2070 // Nov 30, 2011 at 11:44 am
far east organisation hotels…
[...]then in May, something happened[...]…
27 Medela Pump In Style Reviews // Dec 2, 2011 at 9:25 am
travellers tales in the far eastern economic review…
[...]perfect here means the lowest-energy configuration[...]…
28 kidizoom // Dec 2, 2011 at 11:00 am
far east countries…
[...]and that has them looking nervously at climate change[...]…
29 folia // Dec 2, 2011 at 2:19 pm
Website worth visiting…
below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit…
30 fitness and exercise blog // Dec 3, 2011 at 12:12 pm
far east organization sino group…
[...]perfect here means the lowest-energy configuration[...]…
31 pay medical bills online // Dec 5, 2011 at 5:42 am
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
32 drzwi antywłamaniowe katowice // Dec 6, 2011 at 12:20 am
Website worth visiting…
below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit…
33 online videos // Dec 9, 2011 at 10:23 am
far east tour jackets embroidered…
[...]Belgian scientist J. A. P. Plateau calculated in the nineteenth century that[...]…
34 white hat seo // Dec 9, 2011 at 2:47 pm
far eastern university zip code…
[...]perfect here means the lowest-energy configuration[...]…
35 pokies for fun com // Dec 9, 2011 at 3:21 pm
far eastern university…
[...]and that has them looking nervously at climate change[...]…
36 cool caravans // Dec 9, 2011 at 7:05 pm
Yesturdays work for tomorrow – a look at some examples…
Just noticed this example, via jon McCormick on linkedin and imagine it to be extremely informative and too the point…
37 best guest beds // Dec 10, 2011 at 1:01 am
Het werk van Yesturdays voor morgen – een blik op sommige voorbeelden…
Werd getoond dit voorbeeld, via arnold hardvalder Facebook en geloof het om te zijn zeer informatief en ook het punt…
38 How to be self employed // Dec 11, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Recommended websites…
Amazing blog! Thanks for the great contribution with this post….
39 needlepoint christmas stockings // Dec 12, 2011 at 5:28 am
far east movement like a g6 album…
[...]packed bubbles of equal size. This is a compromise[...]…
40 buy christmas gifts for wife // Dec 12, 2011 at 11:46 am
far east florist thomson opening hours…
[...]floods are expected more frequently with climate change – so[...]…
41 Spanish tutor online // Dec 13, 2011 at 2:50 pm
far east movement sunglasses…
[...]and that has them looking nervously at climate change[...]…
42 hummingbird feeders // Dec 14, 2011 at 2:33 pm
far east florist and landscape pte ltd…
[...]have been more outbreaks of Hendra in 2011 [...]…
43 raintrain sprinkler // Dec 15, 2011 at 4:20 am
far east national bank headquarters…
[...]food production and animal husbandry of waterfowl and pigs[...]…
44 buy live animal trap // Dec 15, 2011 at 10:05 am
modern politics government 7th edition…
[...]then in May, something happened[...]…
45 gwiazdy // Dec 16, 2011 at 2:18 pm
Recommeneded websites…
Here you’ll find some sites that we think you’ll appreciate, just click the links over…
46 prefab garage // Jan 10, 2012 at 8:00 am
far east organization philip ng…
[...]food production and animal husbandry of waterfowl and pigs[...]…
47 Peg Perego ride-on toys // Mar 18, 2012 at 7:47 am
sopa de letras para baby shower…
[...]giving myself the possibility to investigate and seize new opportunities [...]…
You must log in to post a comment.