Noah’s Arc Lessons, Part 5
5. Don’t wait for experts to solve your problem. The Titanic was built by experts; the arc was built by an amateur.
The final lesson. Here is where it all comes together. We’ve been at sea together for four lessons, but now we’ve reached the dock and are preparing to alight. So far I have advised to listen and learn, but notice I didn’t recommend becoming an expert. Unless you already are—congratulations! In the absence of the time to become an expert, please have the patience to listen and learn to the experts around you. But don’t be intimated by their expertise; sometimes they can be wrong, or aren’t familiar with the details of a situation to provide the best advice. Noah may not have been a ship-building engineer, but I bet he had some basic knowledge about carpentry, and if he didn’t—he learned.
Remember my earlier advice to trust yourself? This is where it works in practice. There are facts, and data, and evaluation; and there is also anecdotal information and intuition. Applying the two principles provides the blueprints for the ship. After all, decisions aren’t usually made based solely on a list of facts. People need their hearts and brains—and this is where trusting your gut comes into play.
Just as we should listen to the experts, we should also listen to the amateurs. Whenever there is a committee formed to solve a community problem it is recommended that at least one member of the community serve on the committee. The intention behind this is that the people living with the problem—whether it’s housing, employment issues, education—understand it from experience better than anyone else. When we empower people to have a voice in creating solutions, we can discover many things: underlying issues; unintended consequences; demographic information; actual vs. idealized goals; barriers to success; etc. So in a perfect world the experts would listen to the amateurs, and vice versa, and together they find the solution.
Please indulge me while I paraphrase these five lessons less eloquently than Ms. Edelman:
What are you waiting for?
Work together
Keep looking forward
Trust yourself
You can do amazing things!
Now that we have reached the port, please relax and enjoy your time. But be on the lookout for the next departure time—you don’t want to miss the boat!