The Choice

Out on an oil platform in the North Sea, a worker hears a loud explosion and suddenly feels intense heat followed by high waving flames. Quickly, he recognizes that there has been an explosion on the platform some fifty feet above the cold icy grey waters of the angry Atlantic Ocean. Several steps behind him, the destructive burning flames approach closer. Life and death upon him, he is forced to make a decision: Dive into the icy water or burn to death. One option offers some hope of survival; the other offers none. Usually, the man would never consider jumping into the frigid Atlantic Ocean, but these are not regular times. There was nothing about this situation that he could have been precisely prepared for. He had one chance to make the ultimate decision, one that went against his normal behavior. So the man decided to jump fifty feet. He became cold immediately and prayed for help—thinking, “Will I live, or will I die.  

The man did survive the plunge. Afterward, he said that a burning platform caused a radical change in his behavior. This story is the extreme of life or death, but each day we all come across our “burning platform” by either ignoring the heat or seeing the flames. We fool ourselves into believing this can’t happen to our team and organization or in our personal life. We tell little lies to ourselves and live in denial to prevent us from seeking the change we need to make the most—professionally and personally.

After World War II, Sir Winston Churchill was asked why it took so long for the British people to appoint him Prime Minster when all through the thirties, he screamed regarding the dangers of Adolf Hitler. Churchill replied, “Because fear did the work of reason.” Churchill’s powerful words went unheard, but the bombs from the German Luftwaffe could not escape the people of Great Britain’s ears. Great Britain wanted off their burning platform, knowing their only chance of survival was Winston Churchill.

Why does it take a near-death experience for us to recognize the “burning platform?” Why can’t we change the perception of people who are fearful of pending doom into a breath of fresh air? Why do we ignore the cries of concern?  

Because many of us strongly dislike change and exploring the unknown. We instead stand on a burning platform for as long as we can before making a radical decision. When Facebook employees leave their office complex in Silicon Valley, they see a Sun Microsystem, Inc. sign as they pull away. Why? Because Facebook’s founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, wanted every one of his employees to remember what happens when you don’t embrace change.

Don’t wait for the burning platform. Don’t wait for the right moment. Act now and live immediately while using the resources available to find the way!

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