What about the Right Column? The focus from this perspective would be on Contingency in the midst of volatility. This perspective concerns being flexible. We keep options open and allow learning to occur in order to modify the actions taken. An appropriate engagement would involve emphasis on the intentions (goals, vision, values, purposes) associated with the issue being addressed. Which of these intentions should (must) remain constant and which can change depending on the shifting circumstances associated with this issue? The Wizard operated from a contingent position, as did the Cowardly Lion – though each were flexible primarily on behalf of their own welfare. Reality was flexibly distorted for them so that they might thrive (at the expense of other people).
I introduce the metaphor of anchors at this point to address the issue of continuity and change. Originally introduced by Edgar Schein (2006) in describing the nature of careers, the metaphor of anchors can be expanded to help us make sense of this volatility-based polarity. I expand on this metaphor by noting that there are actually two kinds of anchors. The first type of anchor is the so-called Bottom or Ground Anchor. This is the large and very heavy anchor that most of us non-nautical folks envision. The bottom anchor consists of a shaft with two arms and flukes at one end and a stoke mounted at the other end—or they are slabs of concrete to which a ship is attached when moored.
This type of anchor digs into the floor of the sea once the boat begins to move and provides tension on the chains connecting the anchor to the boat. These anchors are meant to be permanent—just as some intentions aligned with a specific issue are meant to remain stationary and are never to be modified (let alone discarded). Commitment is at the forefront. We find this commitment operating in both the MEGA mind melders and (by contrast) the liberal warriors. This may have something to do with the reason why members of these two groups hate each other some much. It is also a commitment to be found embedded in the original actions taken by the characters of Oz as they journeyed to the Emerald City. We find that this commitment has been lost by these characters as their lives have shattered (along with the lives of the Tin Man’s healers).
The second kind of anchor is called a Sea Anchor (also identified as a drift anchor or drogue). It typically is not as heavy as the bottom anchor and is often shaped like a parachute or cone with the larger end pointing in the direction of the boat’s movement. The sea anchor helps to orient the boat into the wind and slows down (but doesn’t prevent) the boat’s drift. The sea anchor is used when the boat is far away from the shoreline and the sea floor is located many fathoms below. The Sea Anchor contrasts with the ground anchors in that it is intended not to hold a boat in place but rather to align a ship with the wind and slow down its movement in any one direction.
