Our last newsletter was written by an exceptional intern. He highlighted the essence of water and how it relates to interning. Thinking back to it, I feel that so many expressions in business invoke the essence of water quite well. Let’s set sail to sea what we see…

The tallest waterfall in the world is Angel Falls in Venezuela. It’s over 3,200 feet high. That’s nearly two One World Trade Centers stacked on top of each other. Laos’ Khone Phapheng Falls are the widest in the world at 6.7 miles! In Niagara, approximately 681,750 gallons per second of water flow over the Horseshoe Falls – nothing compared to Congo’s Inga Falls’ 11.22M gallons per second! What exactly does all this have to do with business and life? Everything.

The 2023 Summer Riptide internship program at Agile Rainmakers wrapped up a fantastic, memorable two months on Friday. The passing of my extraordinary father midway through made it extra challenging emotionally for me. Thank you for all your condolences. I am working through it. Now what? And, how does what’s next relate to our ubiquitous, abundant friend, water?

Water can make a road slippery, rust a ship, and damage a basement. Water can also provide enjoyment for swimmers, reflect beauty, and sustain life. You could say that water is highly skilled. It knows what to do in every situation without being told. And, it does it the same way every time. It is reliable. Mapping this to our summer interns, let’s explore in this multi-part series skills developed in Agile’s Summer Riptide program.

I recently had an insight about business and life that left me gobsmacked. Paying attention to this under-appreciated aspect of our lives will make all the difference. The opportunity I saw in really thinking about this insight left my mouth watering with a taste of all kinds of possibilities.

Serving and learning together, our newsletters twin and twine water, business and life. Over the years, it has been fulfilling, especially when the often-overlooked ubiquitous aspects of the three are highlighted together. They tend to intersect beautifully to allow for countless eye-opening perspectives. So, on this fine day and with these scant words, what savory awareness leaps to mind?

You know how there are things you feel deeply about regarding business and life that you wish others felt? Some things come naturally to you and you wish they would for the people you work with. Furthermore, how often have you realized there is a thought ravine between you and the people you want to get on board with your ideas? There must be ways to get your message through. How do you bridge this mental valley?

We have all heard the story of the fish that asked the other fish, “How’s the water?” The first time you hear this you expect the other fish to reply with something like, “Warm” or “Just right!” Instead, the reply is, “What water?” From this question, what unexpected insights can be gleaned?

Our intention is always to expand your thinking. We do so by weaving water analogies with business and life. We often write about internships. Recall, this passion project is bringing dignity to the internship discourse. Intern Management, the second book in the internship series, is nearly ready. Like a mountain spring from which water and life flow, an excerpt from the prologue setting up key internship principles starts thus.

Agile Rainmakers focuses on rainmaking for high growth companies. You could say we do so in an agile way. That could be by providing strategic advice, redesigning marketing material, making introductions to sought-after people and resources, sales coaching, proofing corporate communications, sharing highly effective recruiting tactics, and leading extraordinary project work done by interns. And, if you know business, isn't it always a dance?

When you feel an ache, what can you do? If you have felt something off, what common remedy was recommended to you? What if you need to slow things down? What have you found that is effective? There is something out there that we use in our personal lives – and in our businesses – that is actually versatile. 

When is the last time you felt light? Was it when you were floating in water? How did that feel? Did it require much skill and if so which ones? What did the feeling of lightness make available to you? Let’s think about skills and buoyancy as they will inform us of the nuances of business and life.

Can you feel the annual rituals happening? Many have reviewed the year, looked at how it felt throughout, tried to let go of whatever ideas or memories didn’t serve them and have made promises for the new year. And now by the stroke of midnight tonight we will all be the new human beings we crave to be, ready to take on business and life just as surfers charge a big wave. Soon it will be paradise.

With beautiful Thanksgiving celebrations now passed – as well as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday – what if you got in touch with the feeling you get when you ask for something? What if you got committed, creative, and courageous asking for what you want in business and life? That’s what we are up to in this newsletter, cool?

Last issue we shared how everything is ambiguous. Look at light and water. We don’t think deeply about either – even though they are ever present and crucial for our survival. Yet, at the same they are quite ambiguous. We also saw there is ambiguity in our work and play. Returning to these ideas now, how does this make you feel?

Life is ambiguous, isn’t it? There you are working away and you find out something that can have more than one interpretation. Someone – perhaps a manager or a customer or a client – says they want to talk to you privately. What could that mean? What’s the feeling that’s right there? Is it good news or bad? Or, you do something great for your company and everyone appreciates it. One year later, however, that same thing you did is viewed undesirably. How can this be you wonder?

The media these days has been discussing our favorite topic – water. There is too much of it in some places, too little in others. While some suffer from unprecedented floods, others wait desperately for rain in a drought. Similarly in your career and personal life, there is too much of some things and not enough of others. Why is it so and what can be done?

In our last of this three-part series, we look at what it takes to get people involved in something extraordinary. Recall, you are aware of something amazing and you want to convey that to those close to you, but how? Given our society views the possibilities for interns and the work they accomplish as limited, the summer intern reflections are an excellent source for this inquiry. As you read, keep in mind this is what the interns said after working in Agile Rainmakers’ Summer Riptide program for just one month.

Utilizing summer intern reflections, we are continuing to inquire into what it takes to get others involved in something phenomenal. On the surface, this sounds like an easy thing to do. Who doesn’t want to get involved in something extraordinary, right? The reality is it just isn’t that simple, just as looking at the ocean surface tells you nothing about the activities beneath.

Ever experience or feel part of something that was really amazing? What did you then do? You probably felt like sharing it with someone close to you. How did that go? They quickly accepted and embraced what you told them and asked you how they could get involved, right? Rarely. Life doesn’t work like that. So, what does it take to get others involved? Let’s explore this in a multi-part series by looking at what we found in some Summer Riptide reflections.