The whole and its parts

The whole & its parts

Forgetting what one is really trying to do

Something I often observe is how many difficulties people experience with setting their goals. However, following them seems to be even more challenging.

Charlie Munger connected this observation with success: “a majority of life’s errors are caused by forgetting what one is really trying to do.”

It’s a situation leaders will frequently find themselves confronted with.

They deal with many competing goals. These include long-term planning and short-term problems, getting the job done and dealing with the team’s need for support, as well as winning followers by persuading them and leading the team into action.

Leaders need to be aware of the need to switch between these competing pairs. Their work consists in noticing which of both goals is the more relevant in a given moment. Their risk is to forget that what they are trying to do requires balancing both competing goals. Instead, they find themselves staying for too long with one of both competing goals.

 

 

Share this post:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *