SHACKLETON CH 10

●Encourage relentless creativity at the edge

   During the expedition, not only Shackleton but also the members never gave up the hope for going back home, and tried to propose creative ideas as many as possible for survival. Above all, the photographer Frank Hurley and the carpenter McNeish whom Shackleton regarded as troublemakers produced a lot of interesting ideas. For example, Hurley could come up with an idea to make the bilge pump from the Flinders bar because he was familiar with metal. McNeish thought of repairing the frozen canvas by using the nails which were originally used for packing cases.

   I found that troublemakers have something special which ordinary people do not have such as creativity instead of the inability to maintain the mood in the group. Generally, people tend to exclude such problematic people to keep the group stability in two meanings. 1) By removing troublemakers from the group, members can get rid of the likely problem caused by the troublemakers. Moreover, 2) by doing so, members can feel to be accepted and also accept others as members of the group from the fact that they are not excluded.

   However, to reject such troublers means to lose the possibility of enjoying their unimaginable gifts. Especially at the edge, the existence of those people is very important to find the creative solutions. Therefore, to make a comfortable condition where exclusion do not happen is really important.

(Now I think Shackleton dared to choose troublemakers as the crew members because he knew those people would exert the unbelievable power under the severe condition which was fresh for normal members...)