“Cortez resorted to a simple but drastic expedient. Once he and his men landed on the shores of Mexico he burned his ships.”

Allen Weinstein and R. Jackson Wilson, Freedom and Crisis, 2nd ed., 11.

 I stumbled upon a post by James Stripes about the historical accuracy Hernán Cortés‘s actions.  Mr. Stripes points out that the boats may have been grounded instead of burned but the legacy of the moment continues to have an impact on our language and motivational planning today.  Perhaps the incident is most memorable for how extreme Cortés’s actions appear.  To reach a foreign destination and immediately destroy any chance of retreat typically gets people’s attention.  Today’s equivalent would be tossing your passport, iphone, wallet, and email addresses overboard (physically or virtually).  To underscore the seriousness of his commitment to the exploration and demonstrating this a public manner, Cortés destroyed the ships.  Change became reality, the exploring party’s charge was clear and survival could not be debated.

Society sends mixed messages on change.  Marriage is proposed but a prenuptial agreement is signed.  Two airline companies merge but they remain in their respective headquarters, flying under their pre-merger logos for months.  New software is rolled out but you can regress to the old version if you wish- consider the two versions of Microsoft’s control panel with a classic and new display.  New Coke was launched but apparently somebody thought they should keep the recipe for Classic Coke just in case thing did not workout.


Sometimes change needs to be cautious and prolonged but the motivation for commitment stagnates with the passage of time.  When I was a trip leader in the Wyoming wilderness change took place the moment the van drove away from the trail head and the group was left with what it could carry in its backpacks.  A successful trip became contingent on everyone’s participation.


When a common focus is built on the foundation of a compelling purpose and the right team is gathered, change is possible.


How have you addressed change?  Do you stay in a lifeboat by a sinking ship or seek shore?  How do you secure a group’s commitment to seek a common goal?