After we have looked for the ten types of opportunity that might exist in any situation, our next task is to choose between the options we have found.
Peter Drucker had very clear views about the best way to do this. He was a hugely influential author and management consultant whose thinking helped to shape the modern corporation and he said:
“Doing the right thing is more important than doing the thing right.”
In other words, it is better to choose a difficult path towards the outcomes we really want than an easy path towards the wrong results. Effectiveness is more important than efficiency. It is better to move slowly in the right direction than quickly in the wrong one. It is better to do the right things imperfectly than the wrong things well.
This probably seems obvious to you now. But how many times do we go along with what’s easy rather than standing up for what’s right? How many times do we allow things to slide instead of addressing the situation? And how often does that then lead us into a worse situation, thinking “If only we’d acted sooner”?
Sailing brings a useful metaphor. If the wind is blowing to where you want to go then your decision is easy: you sail with the wind. But when the wind is blowing against you then you have a choice. Either you give up your goal and sail to wherever the wind is blowing today. Or you tack and jibe across the wind to get to where you want to go. Progress is slower and each change of course seems to point you in the wrong direction. But in fact you are still moving towards your chosen destination, in the weather you happen to have today. And you know that tomorrow or next week the weather will be different again.
Success in a time of change is partly about connecting strongly with what matters most to you and who you are at your best. It is partly about seeing the situation more clearly. And it is partly about finding more opportunities to move forward. But it is also about then choosing which option is the best way forward for you in the wind that is blowing today. Because it is better to move slowly in the right direction than quickly in the wrong one.
Increasing your ability to do this is another step towards becoming antifragile.
In your work, and your personal life, are you deliberately moving towards the destination that matters most to you, no matter which way the wind is blowing each day? Or do you blow around like a leaf in the wind?
Adapted from Inner Leadership: a framework and tools for building inspiration in times of change.
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Photo By Dale Simonson via StockPholio.net
