The Rock, the Log & the Salmon

The workplace is like a great river. An environment with 3 main characters.

The Rock.

It’s heavy. It pulls people down. It pulls down ideas. It sits there – motionless. Cold and immovable. Everything flows on by around it. But the rock is oblivious to whats really going on. The big picture eludes the rock because it doesn’t ever really see the light. The rock is not fearful anymore because it has gone past fear and into complete paralysis. The rock forgotten how to risk so long ago that all it knows is to sit still.

The Log.

It floats. Like someone who takes the high road. It sees the light but essentially just goes along with what everyone is doing. If the river flows this way, I’ll come too. The log is earthy, warm. People like it. People will cling to it to stay afloat because the log makes you feel safe. But the log is alone. You can’t rely on the log to help you change directions. If you are clinging to the log, you must go where it goes – with the current trend.

The hardest logs eventually break down. Whilst they see the light and go with the flow, they don’t really do much else. They are happy enough existing for the time they do. Some logs float to the end. Some break up before they make it. They vary in hardness which essentially determines how far they’ll go. Some break up at the softest of corners. Small change can do that to some. Harder logs will survive longer.

But all logs eventually drift to the lowest point. The top of the mountain is no longer an option for them. That was the past. There only future is now the soggy bottom.

The Salmon.

Against the stream they swim. One of the world’s greatest migrations that takes on risk but also spawns an evolution of life. Yes they may be eaten by a bear. Yes they may run into a rock or a log. But they are swimming through turbulence to arrive at the most beautiful still waters so they can create more. More life. More for everyone.

In the workplace, there are 3 kinds of people.

Rocks, Logs and Salmon.

Salmons innovate. They swim against the current trends to create something that can feed the world. They risk more. But its educated risk. They’ve done this enough now for it to be part of their DNA. Taking off in a direction that can spawn new life is what they do now. They know its hard. But its better than sinking. And it’s better than just floating along with every other log.

Moving around rocks is easy. They are hard and immovable but easy to get around. Salmon just move past them. Logs can get in the way too. Even though they are just floating along and don’t mean to. Again – easy to get around for a salmon. They have their eyes on the bigger goal. Their entire beings are hardwired to risk, because the risk they endure creates life.

Be the Salmon.