Choosing your ship: thoughts on careers
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
Ok so suspend your disbelief. This is an analogy I thought I would share.
Part of my recent journey has involved evaluation of career options. The MBA was an amazingly powerful stepping stone on this journey but not an end in itself. While trying to crystallise my thoughts I came up with this (a bit odd) ship analogy:
Imagine having a job is like working on a ship. There are big and small ships. Everyone on a ship is working for the good of the ship; to keep it running and well navigated. The sea is where the ship operates, there are lots of seas and lots of very different type of ship. The captain is responsible for the ship and making sure it is navigated and operated in accordance to what the owner(s) of the ship decide is in the ships best interests. On smaller ships, often the owner and the captain are the same.
Periodically, ships dock in harbours and ports. Here there are lots of people wondering around the docks, offering services to the captains and owners of the ship. Largely these services aim to improve or help administer the ship in some way. The people wondering around are a largely fragmented bunch but seem to like the independence of roaming the docks, talking to lots of different ships, offering advice but yet never having to worry about the politics and confinement of being aboard a ship which sets out to sea. The ship owners like to talk with them because while the ships have been out to sea they have had to focus all their attention on operating their ship and, now back in port, like to take the chance to see if improvements have been made elsewhere. There are many ways to find out this information about advancements in ship operation however, so often the people wondering around find it hard to engage the captains and owners in a way in which they can support their families.
There are other people in the harbour too. These people are looking to join a ship. This is because being part of a ship is a good way to survive and provide for their families. If they don’t find a ship to suite or one they like with space on board, then they may look to become professional advisor’s themselves, while they wait for the right ship to board. Once aboard a ship they may find themselves quite restricted in pursuing their own endeavours so accept that while aboard they should give up on their own independent aspirations.
It is often difficult for people to move between ships, both between large and small ships and especially between ships that operate in different seas. Even moving between ships that operate out of other harbours and ports can be difficult but perhaps less so than it used to be. Therefore, these people may choose to join the harbour itself, which provides infrastructure to the ships, maintenance, leisure, healthcare & entertainment for those on shore leave, and training in the latest knowledge in types of ship and types of seas. While working for a busy harbour they have very little to worry about and can often relax with regards to the provision to their family.
Occasionally, some of the people on the dock may decide that no ships match what they are looking for. Alternatively, they may have been working aboard a ships that operate in certain seas and have seen a way to somehow improve on the way existing ships currently operate in a sea or perhaps to take that knowledge to a different sea. These people then pop along to a sometimes rough and mischievous bunch known as the ship builders. They then set out to build their own ship. They may or may not decide that they want to be the captain of their new ship, but at least they want to be part of the journey of its growth and share in any success it may eventually achieve.
The problem with building their own ship is that it takes a lot of effort and, because they start small, they are more vulnerable to the ups and downs of the weather experienced out at sea; larger ships are so huge that they only worry about the biggest waves but smaller ships can get sunk by very small waves. For this reason, to build a new small ship is risky meaning these people may struggle to attract others to join with them to help build and operate their new ship.
This can be counted if the ship is planning to operate in an exciting new blue ocean where there are ideal conditions for operating ships. Further ways around this is when bigger ships decide to build associated smaller ships, supporting them where they can in those initial uncertain days. Even the harbour itself has been known to build new ships, although, because life typically so relaxed for the people work in the harbour, it can take a little more time.
This is a silly story! However, knowing whether you want to be on the harbour or out at sea is a useful consideration. If you want to be out at sea, picking the right ship for you, with the right culture and which operates in the best seas, is also important to think about. There is maybe too much pressure to join the first ship you come across or to decide which sea it is that you’d like to commit too, before having a chance to experience it first hand.
Perhaps there is an opportunity for the equivalent of pleasure craft guided sea tours!
Comments welcome!
“An Ox year is a year of duty, discipline and hard-work. Like an Ox ploughing a field we must toil during an Ox year with success coming from diligent labour and hard work.”
