{"id":8848,"date":"2026-06-05T11:50:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T11:50:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/?p=8848"},"modified":"2026-06-05T15:50:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T15:50:29","slug":"how-a-mentor-mentee-relationship-made-sense-of-fishing-and-firefighting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aom.org\/today\/how-a-mentor-mentee-relationship-made-sense-of-fishing-and-firefighting\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Mentor-Mentee Relationship Made Sense of Fishing and Firefighting"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Daniel Butcher<\/a><\/p>\n

While the late Academy of Management Scholar Karl Weick<\/a> (1936-2026) of the University of Michigan is best known for his theories on \u201csensemaking,\u201d his ideas about organizational behavior and psychology had an impact on government agencies and businesses that try to manage the natural world.<\/p>\n

Academy of Management Member Jason Good<\/a> of Aquinas College was the second to last doctoral student whom Weick advised before retiring. Good had convinced Weick to be part of Good\u2019s doctoral dissertation committee by explaining how he wanted to study commercial fishing through the lens of Weick\u2019s oft-cited research on sensemaking<\/a> focusing on how people and groups find meaning in ambiguous, unexpected, or chaotic situations.<\/p>\n

\u201cKarl is well known for his rich and varied theoretical interests\u2014resilience, systems thinking, process thinking, individual and organizational psychology, improvisation, reliability, mindfulness\u2014but he was perhaps equally interested in practical contexts, particularly in improving how processes play out within them,\u201d Good said.<\/p>\n

For instance, in addition to engaging with the medical profession, Weick worked with the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and related agencies and organizations as he tried to translate his work into real-world, life-saving outcomes.<\/p>\n

Most of Weick\u2019s work in this area focused on organizational resilience, particularly in collaborations with Academy of Management Scholar Kathy Sutcliffe<\/a> and Academy of Management Scholar David Obstfeld<\/a>, Good noted.<\/p>\n

Evidence of Weick\u2019s success includes:<\/strong><\/p>\n