Why Your Strategy Needs More "Ark" and Less "Titanic" 🚢🏗️

I recently came across a quote that stopped me in my tracks:

“Noah’s Ark was built by volunteers; the Titanic was built by employees.”

On the surface, it’s a catchy line. But as someone who has spent 30 years championing the power of participation, I see a deeper, more strategic truth beneath those words.

It isn't a comment on the skill of the builders or the tragedy of the voyage. Instead, it’s a powerful metaphor for why people show up.

The Titanic represents the "HR Lens" 📋 The Titanic was a marvel of 20th-century engineering. It was built with rigid hierarchies, strict specifications, and a focus on being the "biggest and best." In the volunteering world, this is the "Job Board" approach—where we treat volunteers like unpaid employees, fitting them into pre-defined boxes of compliance and supervision.

The Ark represents the "Partner Lens" ❤️ The Ark was a grassroots response to a crisis. It was built on interdependency. People didn't show up because they had a job description; they showed up because they shared a mission. This is the "Heart" approach—where volunteers are viewed as primary customers and essential allies in solving a problem they care about deeply.

The 21st-Century Shift.

In my work with Time for Impact, I often see organisations struggling because they are trying to build "Arks" using "Titanic" blueprints.

Modern volunteers aren't looking for a "second job." They are looking for:

Purpose over Process: They want to know why their time matters, not just how to fill out a timesheet.

Collaboration over Control: They want to be partners in the mission, not just "a pair of hands."

Heart over HR: They want a community of active participation, not a management structure.

The Lesson for Leaders -  When we build our organisations solely on "employment" models—even for our volunteers—we risk creating something impressive but brittle. But when we build on the "Ark" model of shared passion and collective purpose, we create something that can weather any storm.

Are you building a hierarchy, or are you fostering a movement? Let’s move away from the "Volunteer Role" and start building for Impact.

Copyright: Chris Wade, Time for Impact Ltd, 22nd January 2026.