I have just returned from a week’s sailing in the Baltic, the seventh time I have sailed with the same crew (www.phatbuoys.com). I am full up again on stories and analogies and ready to dispense them both liberally.
One parallel that struck me clearly last week was the challenge of working with the direction of the wind and how it affects your route to the destination.
It is rare in life and rarer at sea to simply select a destination and head in a straight line to it. Conditions, just like those we have all experienced in recent months, mean that a straight line is not an option. Those that press on feel like they are moving slowly, if at all towards their goal. One has to adjust both your sails and your course.
On one particular day heading to our destination would have meant having the wind directly behind us, sounds swell and fast, doesn’t it. It can be fast but in truth is a dangerous point of sail and difficult for the boat to maintain safely. The preferred setting was a little away from the wind, extending our journey but the using the sailboat more efficiently, safely and still maintaining speed.
How often do conditions in your world seem absolutely perfect (i.e. the wind is behind you) and the experience becomes nerve wracking with things happen too fast around you? The reckless stay on that course and often attract damage, the worried turn completely off course and avoid the conditions completely.
The most powerful choice would be to adjust your course slightly, in effect to tack left and right. At work this might be in the form of a rapid review of your short and long term goals. Could they move or be different? What might now be in range? Maybe set some short term stretching goals and install more frequent rapid review and re-evaluations. Pause (see article Pause) and tune in to your intuition. It may also mean shifting roles in the team for a few weeks, changing the focus and challenging ingrained habits.
Whatever the conditions for you this week, consider your heading and where the wind is taking you. What short term changes can you make to maximise your safety, enjoyment and results?
Good luck and keep me informed
Simon