Internal Navigation

recalling skills and capabilities we've temporarily mislaid

Image: Andrey Simonenko

This is the second part of a post I started on Tuesday, reflecting on how we navigate a changing world.

---

There is a seductive ease to a GPS. We enter a destination, and it provides us with route options, places where there are delays, and the estimated time of arrival. If we go off track for any reason, it will bring us back. It can be quite insistent, and soon, we won't even need to bother with driving if Mr Musk has his way.

We won’t need a map at all.

I think the challenge is twofold. Firstly, we have no involvement in the creation of the map, and secondly, because GPS makes life so easy, we don't put that much thought into where we're going and why. Making it easy to get somewhere doesn't mean it's somewhere worth taking the time to get to.

Ancient navigators were much more circumspect. They were very aware and attuned to the things that might knock them off course, from iron ore deposits to parts of the map that were unknown, marked “here be dragons”, and on a bad day, Sirens.

In the story, Odysseus wants to hear the enchanting song of the Sirens—creatures whose singing lures sailors to their doom—but without succumbing to their spell. Acting on advice from the sorceress Circe, he has himself tied to the mast of his ship and orders his crew to plug their ears with beeswax so they won’t hear the Sirens at all. As they sail past, Odysseus hears the Sirens’ song and is driven nearly mad, begging to be released. But his crew, unable to hear him, follows orders and keeps him bound until they are safely past.

Today, the Sirens industry is thriving. Social media, recruiters, HR, and, of course, the metrics and KPIs of our performance measures, which often overlook what truly matters beyond profit.

For some, the Sirens are taking them where they want to go. For others, however, this is not the case, and we need to find alternative means of navigation.