I loved the depth of the “Life of Pi” movie.
I think the idea that the fear of Richard Parker, the tiger, kept Pi alert while they were adrift in the ocean is a powerful one. The concept here is accountability.
Organizations have this built in thanks to bosses and boards of directors. I think we need accountability as human beings. And, like all things, I think accountability is a muscle that needs to be developed. It takes many years of practice and external guidance to develop the sort of will power that comes with accountability. A few master it very early.
For the rest of us, it helps to think about the Richard Parker’s in our lives – i.e. people whose wisdom we respect, and yet, people who we would hate letting down because they scare us just that little bit.
The downside to any such practice is that it can become a habit, a safe comfort zone. The tough part here is to keep doing this with the view that the ideal end state is when we are accountable just to ourselves.
The journey to that end state will be tough, painful and imperfect. Just like all good things..
A Learning a Day 