I have had enough. Seven Habits, Ten Rules, and Three Principles. Can life be this simple? Or is it that we are so use to fast solutions and instant business gratification that we have reduced ourselves to only focusing on a very few things at a time. For example, I can think about, write, and explain the fabric of a problem, its context in colors and creative ideas, and the client looks at me with glassy eyes as if to say… “I just want the answer”. Well, I’m afraid, the answer is not that simple, and do we really want it to be? No, let me tell you why.
Take the simplest of examples: Your daughter wants to pitch for her softball team, and she finally is put into the game. She has been practicing and has perfect form. She does not do well, walks too many batters, and the game is falling away. Between innings, the coach asks her how she is doing, and she replies with “I’m fine, and I want to go in again”. Should the coach pull out the Five Rules of Softball and read rule #4: “You must have fun”? Fun from who’s perspective?
I agree with rule #4, kids should have fun. However, what about the rule that says that fun should be shared and not horded by one player who doesn’t understand that having fun can also mean sharing the glory and winning? You see what I mean; it’s more complicated then that. What about rule # 76 that says a coach’s job is to make sure the girls learn to like the game so they continue to play. If we keep your daughter in the game, the other team members might fall asleep in the field, get bored, and decide that softball isn’t for them. But rule #76 never made the publication cut, it made things too complicated for their reader. Really?
Everywhere I look, I see the standard “lists” of things someone is trying to sell. Not that I think their ideas don’t have merit, because I do. But I think it’s misleading to expect people to blindly follow rules, principles, or habits in isolation outside the rich context of problem solving.
The softball analogy really happened, it was my daughter, and I took her out of the game. She is now an excellent catcher, loves softball, and is a great team player. We also made it to the playoffs. If I stuck with rule #4 and interpreted it blindly, who knows? This is the same for our businesses. Yes, we follow some core values, and principles, and then we interpret and add context so we can look at all sides of a problem and come up with correct solutions. Leading, like coaching, is not following blindly a simplification of a list that a publisher liked…
Russ