Organizations need a mission. It took a long time for enlightened leaders and corporate managers to see that, but nowadays every success story in the business world mentioned a single-minded multi-bodied group “toiling upward in the night” (as Longfellow called it) until the project was completed.
Problem is, we’re all doing that now. It’s expected that folks are in the zone for most of the waking hours. We’ve hit “peak work” and simply working harder isn’t enough. If anything, it’s time to stop working and (gasp) think. Gone are the days where burning midnight oil is ALL it takes (although it helps a lot).
Say you want to design and build a car. What type of do you want to build? The Ford Model T, whose price tag enabled America to get to work relatively cheaply and reliably? Or the Maserati GranTurismo, which will get you there much, much more quickly, and in more style, but at a cost of $150,000? Or how about a Volkswagen Beetle, which went from idea (it was Hitler’s) to rolled out (by Ferdinand Porsche) in roughly 4 years?
Developing a successful car requires a well-considered plan, and that plan requires a clearly understood (and communicated!) mission.
In whatever your life’s pursuits, personal and professional, consider whether you want it to be good, done quickly, and done cheaply. If you can get two out of the three, you're in good shape.
Problem is, we’re all doing that now. It’s expected that folks are in the zone for most of the waking hours. We’ve hit “peak work” and simply working harder isn’t enough. If anything, it’s time to stop working and (gasp) think. Gone are the days where burning midnight oil is ALL it takes (although it helps a lot).
Say you want to design and build a car. What type of do you want to build? The Ford Model T, whose price tag enabled America to get to work relatively cheaply and reliably? Or the Maserati GranTurismo, which will get you there much, much more quickly, and in more style, but at a cost of $150,000? Or how about a Volkswagen Beetle, which went from idea (it was Hitler’s) to rolled out (by Ferdinand Porsche) in roughly 4 years?
Developing a successful car requires a well-considered plan, and that plan requires a clearly understood (and communicated!) mission.
In whatever your life’s pursuits, personal and professional, consider whether you want it to be good, done quickly, and done cheaply. If you can get two out of the three, you're in good shape.
0 comments:
Post a Comment