Re: [Paddlewise] Swimming Under the Golden Gate Bridge

> As Pam can tell anyone (and probably frequently does) I make a poor
> Trip
> Leader; or trip follower for that matter. Most of my paddling is
> solo and
> getting used to a group is not easy for me. I've gone to a bunch of
> Port
> Townsend seminars and have never once joined a group on the water. I
> forget
> to turn on the very radio I insisted everyone carry. I am overly
> cautious
> about some things and stupidly reckless about others. I often paddle
> faster
> than the group and just as often dawdle along some shoreline. I have
> no
> stars of any sort... and was conspicuously short of stars in grade
> school
> too.
> 
> So I'm certainly no expert on group paddles; but I read Mark's essay
> and
> then read Pam's remarks (under "HA!) and I have to wonder. Pam's
> points seem
> to me to be right on the mark and she *is* an expert on taking
> seminars (as
> far as I can tell she's never passed one up). She got everything
> right, in
> my opinion. But I think there is a facet to this that everyone is
> passing
> up.
> 
> But rather than just tell you what I think that is I'm going to
> babble on
> for a bit. Bear with me.
> 
> When I was young... shortly after the Civil War... our society was
> one which
> I have come to think of as "competence based". The first Project
> Engineer I
> ever worked for had taken a correspondence course in civil
> engineering and
> surveying. Let me emphasize that. He didn't have a BS in Civil
> Engineering.
> He didn't have a Professional Engineerr's certificate. He had simply
> taken a
> home study course early in his career. But here he was, responsible
> for
> making sure that the I-405 and I-520 interchange in the
> Bellevue/Kirkland
> area east of Seattle was built correctly and he did exactly that. He
> was
> competent. If he hadn't been competent, home study course or not, he
> would
> have never been promoted to Project Engineer. His competence
> outweighed his
> lack of credentials.
> 
> Some time ago I began to realize that our society is no longer
> competence
> based. My old boss would never be promoted to Project Engineer
> nowadays. In
> fact, he'd barely make the grade as a technician. Our society is now
> mainly
> credentials based. There are no longer many fields that don't have
> credentials attached to them and a quick perusal of the "help
> wanted" ads
> will quickly educate you on a bunch of them. There is the BA, the
> MBA, the
> CNE (sadly outdated), the MSCE, the CSE, the PhD, the A+, the ....
> well, you
> get the idea..
> 
> Shortly after I had to fire two individuals with copious credentials
> it
> occured to me that we had a problem. These guys were clearly
> incompetent.
> Yet they had credentials that said they could do the job. Why would
> that be?
> That would be because handing out credentials has become a profit
> center. If
> Microsoft or Cisco makes money from every credential it hands out -
> and if
> other people make money training people to take those tests to get
> that
> credential - then we might be creating a problem for ourselves.
> Eventually
> the money wins.
> 
> If credentials are a profit center then you have to walk a fine
> line. If
> getting the credentials is too hard then no one will bother to ante
> up the
> money because, well, what's the point? But if they're too easy then
> just
> about anyone can get them. And sooner or later the money becomes the
> point
> and once that happens someone will realize that there are a lot more
> "just
> about anyones" out there than there are people who could pass a
> tough test.
> 
> I think our society has gotten to that point. And I also think that
> the
> recent economic collapse undrescores it. After all, the bankers and
> stock
> brokers and politicians all had lots of credentials. If they hadn't
> they
> wouldn't have gotten their jobs. And because they had credentials
> they must
> have known what they were doing. Too bad we couldn't have just let
> the
> credentials solve the problems. Because the people they were
> attached to
> were mostly incompetent. But I digress....
> 
> It's undoubtedly true that you can judge a credential much easier
> than you
> can judge competence and it can be argued safely that the Human
> Resources
> Department of any corporation would be incapable of judging any sort
> of
> competence at all. So credentials have filtered their way into every
> facet
> of society until you can't do practically anything any more unless
> you have
> some sort of credential. This includes graduating from kindergarten.
> And
> paddling.
> 
> Now here... if you've been paying attention... is where I cleverly
> bring
> everything together. Oh, rats... you're way ahead of me aren't
> you?
> 
> Mark's Trip Leader's credentials were the 5 stars and Mark's essay
> mentions
> this several times. He even says that you just don't argue with
> someone who
> has 5 stars. And he was right; no one did. Maybe he paid too much
> attention
> to the stars and not enough attention to the individual who was
> about to
> lead him through some of the most treacherous waters in North
> America.
> 
> Mark only mentioned what I think was the one key to this puzzle
> once: the TL
> was not familiar with the area.
> 
> The area in question is one of the most hazardous waterways in
> North
> America. I've been through the tidal race at the Golden Gate in
> 700-foot
> tankers and was awed by the spectacle. No one should ever - EVER -
> follow
> anyone through the Golden Gate in a kayak who wasn't familiar with
> it no
> matter how many stars he has after his name. And that goes for any
> serious
> water.Or on skis down a ski slope for that matter. Or up a
> mountain.
> 
> Not only that, but I suspect the TL knew he had a problem. His late
> start,
> the constant calls to group up, the dithering around, the nervous
> chatter
> about all the dangers they could face... all of that speaks volumes
> to me
> that the TL was nervous about the entire trip. If he had been
> nervous about
> one or two paddlers he could have simply told them that they were,
> in his
> opinion, unprepared and either left them on the beach or put them
> into the
> safety boat and continued on.
> 
> I think that at some point the TL finally realized that he was out
> of his
> depth here and turned the group around. Too bad that turning them
> around
> probably led them into a far greater danger than simply continuing.
> Who
> knows what would have happened if they hadnt had that safety boat
> along.
> 
> The major lesson to be learned here is that the Trip Leader isn't
> God. He's
> not the only one with the ability to judge competence and cancel or
> abort a
> trip. Every paddler in the group has the option to turn around and
> walk
> away. There were warning signs that Mark's TL - who may have been
> competent
> in many things - was not competent to lead this trip; and knew it.
> 
> Credentials aren't everything. What really counts is competence.
> Especially
> when your life is on the line.
> 
> 
> Craig Jungers
> With practically no credentials at all in Moses Lake, WA


An excellent post, Craig, and not just as applied to Mark's story.

-- 
  Darryl
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