I have never seen a more “objective” study in which everything of importance was revealed regarding the researcher’s own biases, assumptions and motivations. His dissertation ended up being rough but saturated with profound insights not only about AIDS but also the processes of grieving and dying. My student died several months after completing his dissertation and being rewarded the doctorate. This dissertation process was close and personal for me. I can’t be objective about it even more than 20 years later. The whole engagement is unclear for me and filled with my own feelings of admiration, sadness and a sense of privilege that I was able to be with him for this final act of his life. Thus, I, like most people, can be clear from a distance but not clear up close and personal. Numbers are simpler than narratives. Big pictures (distal/ideographic) are clearer and less emotionally-distorting than local pictures (proximal/nomothetic). Serenity can ultimately be achieved only by closing our eyes and our hearts.
Turbulence and Calm
The white water is all around us at this point in the 21st Century. We are living in a turbulent world. Some things in our life and work are moving rapidly, while other things are moving in a cyclical manner. We are also likely to find that some things are not moving at all—even if we would like them to move. Perhaps, most importantly, some things in our life and work are moving in a chaotic manner/ They are swirling about in an absolutely unpredictable manner. We might be able to adjust temporarily to one of these four conditions, but soon find that we are facing a different set of conditions that require a quite different manner of planning, execution and leadership.
What is the systemic Impact? Four subsystems (rapid change, cyclical change, non-change and chaotic change) are all operating at the same time—and they are often bumping into one another. There is another important factor that we must add to this complex equation. We know that any system will become chaotic when it moves fast. Overly rapid change damages everything in a system and makes this system hard to manage. Thus, in a world where accelerating change (the first subsystem) is becoming more prevalent, we are likely to find that chaos (the fourth subsystem) will also become more prevalent. The cyclical changes—that are more predictable—will become less prevalent.
Stagnation (the third subsystem) will also tend to decline in magnitude—or it will become more isolated from the other subsystem. While reduction in the size of this third subsystem might initially seem to be a positive outcome, we find that this is not the case, for the third subsystem is often a source of stability for any system (especially a human system). That which Talcott Parsons (1955) called “latent pattern maintenance” tends to reside in the third subsystem. Furthermore, we know that the nutrients in a natural system (such as a mountain stream) reside primarily in the so-called “stagnant” portion of the stream. This is where leaves eventually end up and where they sink to rot (convert into new forms of nutrition for other living beings in this stream). We might find that this same nutritional function is being served in human systems. Put simply, this third subsystem is just as important as the other three.
Given these characteristics of a “white water” world, we find that the personal impact is likely to be great for any of us who are living and working in this environment. The white-water world requires a search for balance and direction which in turn requires ongoing attention. Apparently, we need a kayak when navigating the white water. A canoe will just tip over, for it doesn’t’ have the flexibility of a kayak. Furthermore, we must find our center of gravity when steering our kayak through the white water. Peter Vaill (2008) goes so far as to suggest that this center of gravity is often found in our embracing of a core set of principles and values—even operating from a spiritual perspective regarding life and work.
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