The traverse

Achievement culture likes straight lines: see the goal and walk to it without turning. On real terrain, between the two points, there can be a wall, a swamp, someone else’s property and an agency that accepts applications only on Tuesdays.

So movement toward a goal often goes by traverse.

To get an interesting job you sometimes have to pick up an adjacent skill first. To change a system it is more useful to start with a small section. To reach a person it is easier to get an introduction than to knock ten times on a closed door.

A detour is not the same as cheating. It can lower risk, keep things reversible and produce information.

The intermediate steps worth most are the ones that are useful on their own. If the big goal is never reached, what remains is a skill, contacts, experience or a small result that works.

A good route does not have to look like an arrow. What matters is that every turn is explained by the terrain and not by fear of finally getting close.

An example from an entirely straightforward profession. Someone wants to work at a company that does not hire without experience in that exact industry. The direct path is to send applications and collect rejections. The traverse is to join their contractor, learn the industry from the inside over a year, get to know half the department and arrive as a familiar face with the right experience.

The difference is not only in the odds. The direct path, when it fails, leaves a folder of rejections. The traverse leaves a year of experience, working contacts and an understanding of whether the company was worth the trouble at all.