What New Bedford revealed about resilience and uncertainty
When I started my Dialogue Miles journey, I framed it as 100 miles of dialogue with people who shaped my life. John Evans was always on that list. Last week in New Bedford, we finally walked together. The conversation reinforced why John has had such a meaningful impact on me and why we need to make time for people who shape our journey.
John—or “Dewey” as I’ve known him for 49 years—has been a constant in my life since our days playing soccer and studying chemistry at the College of the Holy Cross. For our Dialogue Miles walk, we covered 3.5 miles through the cobblestone streets of his home town.
New Bedford is a working fishing town with roots as one of the world’s great whaling hubs. Walking with Dewey, who brought the history to life with New England humor, I realized how often we live somewhere without truly understanding what built it.
As we reflected on our transitions from chemistry to business strategy, New Bedford’s history became a masterclass on uncertainty, resilience, and the power of an anchor.
Here are five leadership truths from a historic harbor and a half-century of friendship:
Growth demands stepping into the unknown. In 1841, Herman Melville shipped out from New Bedford, gaining the raw experience for Moby-Dick. Nearby, in 1838, Frederick Douglass arrived after escaping slavery. Both stood at the edge of the known world and chose to go further. In business, true innovation requires believing what lies beyond fear is worth the risk.
The iron must hold. Lewis Temple, an African American blacksmith, transformed whaling by inventing the toggle harpoon. His principle? "The iron must hold when the whale strikes, or all the labor of the voyage is lost." Leadership requires the same consistency. Industry changes can damage superficial connections, but trust is the iron that holds when waters get rough.
Merit outweighs constructs. Out at sea, survival stripped away social constructs. Paul Cuffe, a Black and Indigenous sea captain, captured this: "I have spent my days on the deep waters, where a man is judged by his hand on the helm... not by the color of his skin." The most resilient organizations today run on that exact truth.
True networks are non-transactional. The relationships that sustain us are usually forged before either party can offer professional gain. Decades of consistency and showing up built an anchor in Dewey I can always depend upon.
Adaptation is the only way forward. When whaling vanished almost overnight, New Bedford adapted. Today’s business challenges can feel unprecedented, but history proves otherwise. Grit and adaptation carried communities through transition then, and they will now.
We closed the night at a seaside bar with New England clam chowder and a soccer match. A simple, complete ending to an illuminating day.
When you stand at the edge of uncertainty, who is the anchor holding your iron steady?
