Safety

Hazard Zone

Safety barriers can be seen as inconvenient and unnecessary. When they appear placed too far away from the object we intend to observe, it is easy to ignore their presence. What we do not know is the magnitude of the potential hazards ahead. We are rarely the experts and yet we consider our mastery of conventional wisdom to be all the safety we need.

If we are ready to embrace edgecraft, we must understand that traveling beyond edges has consequences. How do you evaluate warning signs and the potential benefits of navigating beyond the barrier?

Balanced Protection

What needs to be kept behind locked doors, and what is strategically public at your organization? Some organizations prefer to keep more information secret when in doubt. Transparency allows for fewer unknowns, which reduces the number of people who make up facts in the absence of answers. There is necessary information that requires confidentiality, but a posture that is too shielded tends to raise questions.

Leaving the Tribe

Sherman Alexie spoke at the Cabin’s Readings and Conversations program in Boise last evening.  He is known for being a Spokane/Coeur d’Alene Native American, poet, film-maker, and author of such novels as The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.  He was entertaining, troubling, thoughtful, empathetic, misguided, and unstoppable (the people seated next to me wondered aloud if he would ever stop talking).  He told stories, addressed current events, taunted liberal, shamed conservatives who had attempted to ban his book, and was the punchline of his jokes.  He also took [expletive delete] liberties with his language.

A significant tipping point in Sherman’s life came at age 13 when he left to attend a high school off his reservation.  Sherman reminded the audience that his most powerful discoveries and successes came because he walked away from his reservation seeking something else in the world.  He now serves as one of the most powerful link for both the native american communities and those of anglo heritage.  He refers to himself as a modern day Sacagawea. 

The enduring image of the evening was Sherman walking across the stage, hands raised, middle fingers extended as he mockingly walked out of an imaginary cave and the warmth of its fire.  The power of slipping the bonds of safe for the possibility of better was profound.  

How often do we choose the safety of the tribe over the chance to seek new experiences?  Sometimes, walking out of the cave is the most powerful act we can take.