StrengthsFinder & other assessments: Fireworks or Shuttle-launch?

By Dries Lombaard

Director: Strategic Engagement; The Strengths Institute, South Africa

Our families' favourite vacation destination is a small coastal village on the beautiful Garden Route coastline of South Africa, called Herolds Bay.  We love it there for many reasons.  It is surely one of the most amazing parts of South Africa when it comes to nature and beauty.  The beach houses are built on steep cliffs that surround the little natural bay.  It is a paradise for children, and very safe.  Due to the geography, there is not a lot of parking available – scarcely enough for the residents, which means that once the village is full, it is mostly only the residents who has the beach all to themselves….which is a great advantage if you consider how South Africans can pack the white beaches of our coastline during the long summer vacation in December.

Our daughters will leave the beach house late in the mornings (late, simply because the love to sleep in during holidays), and we will only see them when they reappear to be fed.  Although you feel secluded and far removed from the buzz of the city, the town of George is simply 10 minutes’ drive away.  When the bug bites, we also love to go and have dinner at a nice restaurant or even go for a movie in town.  However, mostly, we just chill in the sun, sand and sea for 2 or 3 weeks.

My mother played on the very same rocks seventy years ago where my kids now play, as it was their vacation destination also when she was a child (my grandparents originated form a nearby town called Oudtshoorn).  Moreover, according to my mom, her grandparents loved to go to the same beach with an ox wagon to pitch a tent with a view on the ocean…

Thus, you can say, it is a tradition for generations for our family to walk the beach of Herolds Bay as often as possible.

There is another tradition that is valued in that small coastal village.  On New Year’s eve every year, around 11pm, the residents walk down to the beach with folded chairs, picnic baskets and soft drinks (some preferring “hard drinks” instead), and camp out on the edge of the beach for a firework display par excellence. The residents for the residents do the display, and there are some internal battles and feuds that come probably for a generation or two, on who can shoot up the most spectacular display of coloured light and sound the moment the clock strikes twelve.  (With the price of fireworks these days, I keep myself from being drawn in to any testosterone-filled feud – we simply enjoy the show.)

And what a show it is! Rockets, star-bursts, mushroom shaped lines of colour, laser-like lines drawing through the dark sky, illuminating the cliffs and white of the waves beneath.  Every explosion is rewarded by a shout of excitement and appreciation from the crowd.  The louder the crowds’ response, the prouder the one who lit the fuse.

Fireworks are spectacular. It has been a crowd-puller for centuries.

However, the thrill of fireworks is temporary. For a while, the loud explosions and the colourful display of light in the sky captivate everyone.  Then, when the last rocket exploded, it turns dark and silent.  The people stay for a while, sharing the excitement in choosing the one that they felt was best.  Then, the people go home.  The darkness of the night again surrounds the beach and the houses on the hills. All you can hear then is the rhythmic crashing of the waves.  The evidence of the show litters the beach on New Year’s Day.  Burnt out shells are seen all over the sandy beach.  People help to clean up as they fill the beach with umbrellas, beach balls and surfboards.  The show is over.  Life goes on.

There is something else I would love to see one day, if I am lucky enough to visit the States again at the right time and be at the right place.  I would love to visit the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral in Florida to witness the launch of a Space Shuttle or a space rocket.  There is a website (www.spacecoastlaunches.com) that I visit from time to time, just to be envious of those who can actually be there to experience the sheer power of a launch.  Occasionally, I even change my laptops desktop wallpaper to a photo of the Space Shuttle Discovery that takes off with explosive energy and power.  What an experience it must be able to see a launch for real!

There are similarities between the launching of a Space Shuttle and a firework display.  Obviously, size does matter, so one should not even compare that aspect.  However, both are the result of science of propulsion that results from explosives being controlled.  That means both fireworks and space rockets are a display of controlled energy through explosion and fire.  Both are spectacular for exactly that reason.  Both also ignite with a sound of explosive energy and burst of flames.  Both are highly entertaining and exhilarating to watch as it launches into the sky.

However, only one has destination.

The whole point of a firework display is entertainment.  This is obviously, why it is associated with special occasions, celebrations and events. It is FUN!  The point of a Space Shuttle launch is to get the shuttle into space with a mission, a destination, a purpose.  

Both firework displays and Space Shuttle launches are planned carefully and executed with safety in mind.  Nevertheless, the objective makes all the difference.

My question to any coach, or individual being coached is the following: are you in it for the fireworks, or is it a shuttle launch?

As a Strengths Coach I often see StrengthsFinder-fireworks. So very sad... the real impact and destination will never be reached. Pretty soon after the "hype" it turns dark, and the people go home.

The choice is yours.