Baby Steps

Lost in Rugby, England, Dwight Morrow and his wife, the parents of Anne Lindbergh, wandered through the streets for hours.  He stopped a little Rugby lad of about 12 years.  “Could you tell us the way to the station?” he asked.

“Well,” the boy answered, “You turn to the right there by the grocer’s shop and then take the second street to the left.  That will bring you to a place where four streets meet.  And then, sir, you had better inquire again.”

The life of a Chief Executive.  People may say something different in public, but in private, we all know that much of the time we’re hoping our gambles pay off or wash out quickly so we can reverse course before all is lost.  The real work of the leader is to push so far out over the bow that if there’s a collision with reality, the first contact will be with the end of your nose, at least then you can react quickly enough to spare most of the ship.  And it continues to be the single largest issue in our Executive counsel work…  “How do I decide?  How do I resolve this impasse?  What is the right thing to do?”  Yet, Life is murky.

Our suggestion is to take the counsel of that little Rugby lad and move ahead, anticipating the chance to take a sighting and set a new course in due time.  Perhaps the best indication of a rational management approach is to avoid the nagging desire for a clear decision or a complete vindication on something and find a way to “move off the dime” and take a positive step.  None of our work is done in an instant, and major improvements often take an entire career.

There’s no way to know immediately if it’s right, or wrong.  But if you wait, hung up on “maybe,” it’s for sure the view won’t change.

Baby Steps.  Decide.  Move.  Do a little; check your bearings.  Do a little more.  Keep on.  Take a sounding.  Look out for the bump – Change Course.

Come to the place where four roads meet … and inquire again.

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