Management Topics
The Shortest Path to Your Goals by Josef Martens, PhD, CSP steps. You go for it… Y
Many of us choose this approach as we pursue goals. It seems obvious enough, yet we make a big assumption. The assumption is that the direct path is the shortest (or best) path.
Here is something I have learned
from navigating a sailboat and using nautical maps. Like in other outdoor activities, maps are being used to help you get from point A to point B. The standard type of chart is a so-called Mercator projection. It’s a specific way to take actual land and sea contours from the globe and represent it on a flat map. If you ever tried to flatten a deflated soccer ball, you know that you won’t
46 ❘ December 2019 ®
On a Mercator map, the way the projection is done preserves angles and not distances. This may sound a bit technical, but the great benefit is that you can plot a course on the map, determine the heading (angle to north) and maintain that angle to north (i.e., your compass reading) as you head towards the destination. In short, a straight line on the map represents a fixed compass bearing as you sail.
Quick side remark for the geometry
fans: on a globe, this doesn’t work. On the actual globe, the angle to North changes as you approach your destination in a straight line.
ou have a goal. You consider how to reach it. There seems to be a clear path to it. You define action
be able to get it flat. It leaves wrinkles; you have to compress and stretch it in places. On a map, it leads to distortions.
One of the quirks of a Mercator map
is that a straight line is not the shortest distance. For short sailing turns on the Chesapeake Bay,
this doesn’t matter
much because the difference is small. Yet on a long trip, this matters a lot. Following a straight line as you sail from Florida to France will add hundreds of miles and several days to the trip.
The shortest line between A and B
on a Mercator map is a curve. You may have seen it on a long flight on the in- flight map.
The same is often true in life and
work. The shortest line is curved. The mental map that we have of
the world is also a projection. It’s a projection of reality onto how our mind understands and grasps reality. Have
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
