This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
ligge (lå) lige for
vidensteoretisk

Glossary entry

Danish term or phrase:

kaospiloterne

English translation:

chaos navigators

May 6, 2008 21:29
16 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Danish term

kaospiloterne

Danish to English Science Biology (-tech,-chem,micro-)
This is a Danish term that ALL Danes seem to know and understand, but are quite poor at explaining. I need a simple equivalent phrase in English. And not "chaos pilots", please, which really means nothing to the English audience.
Proposed translations (English)
4 chaos navigators
4 +2 KaosPilots
3 innovative entrepreneurs/entrepreneurial innovators
Change log

May 6, 2008 21:45: Michele Fauble changed "Level" from "Non-PRO" to "PRO"

Proposed translations

8 mins
Selected

chaos navigators

They call their students KaosPiloter, and yes, it does translate as 'chaos navigators'.
www.threemonkeysonline.com/threemon_printable.php?id=172

“Chaos navigators guide people through change, making sense out of confusion, clarifying what ...
courses.csusm.edu/gbm426go/RosenModelExp.ppt



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 10 mins (2008-05-06 21:40:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

“As leaders,” the authors write, “we must now be realistic optimists, urgent listeners, chaos navigators, and global capitalists all in one. ...
linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1048984301000911

Note from asker:
So these people are basically change management consultants. With drama.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Cheers!"
+2
9 hrs

KaosPilots

Well, I don't like it either, but that's what they call themselves. See the link below (in English).
Reference:

http://www.kaospilot.dk/

Note from asker:
Cheers to you, too, Jørgen. I thought I could add ALL the answers to the glossary, but it seems not. I like Christine's point that we have to choose name vs. explanation, particularly when the name is more of a marketing ploy than a description itself. To be honest, the first image I got when I read "kaospiloterne" was of some sort of mockery of an air show, where the planes fly all over the place nearly hitting one another, the pilots wearing evil clown masks ...
Peer comment(s):
agree Christine Andersen : You have to choose between the name or the explanation, I'm afraid. I'm British, and I think I understood it at first sight, but I was studying down the road in Århus at the time!
9 mins
agree Laura Petersen : I've come across it in my own work and always use the Danish word 'kaos'
34 mins
Something went wrong...
9 hrs

innovative entrepreneurs/entrepreneurial innovators

'innovative entrepreneurs/entrepreneurial innovators', I agree that all Danes know this phrase and 'seem' to understand it. The reason they find it difficult to explain is that they don't really have a clear understanding of what exactly it means. I think most Danes would agree that it has something to do with innovation and something to do with entrepreneurship, but they would vary in where they would place their emphasis.
Note from asker:
Many thanks, Diarmuid! That puts a different perspective on the term I hadn't considered before! Again, I would like to add yours to the glossary, but it seems one can only choose 1 answer. Pity, really.
Something went wrong...
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search