Community

Good Morning!

If you were to describe your week in one sentence...what would you say?

Before you jump into that thought...step back...

That question itself is important...

It should be a habit that at some significant point in your journey...you stop and assess your efforts and for that matter your life...

I have made it a habit to do it on a daily basis...it works for me...

I ask myself..."What was today all about?" AND I write it down...

I started doing that on a weekly basis...and that was good...

But when I started doing that daily...my life changed!

Consider asking yourself that question...

It can be scary!  and it should be!

OK...enough said on this...let's go back to our thoughts...

My week has all been around focused efforts...

Have you ever thought about how difficult it is to move forward, if you have to also expend energy to your left and right?

Motion follows simple principle which was described by Newton...a long time ago!

Direction is determined by the sums and differences of the vectors of forward and opposing forces upon an object...

OK...I know...this is as clear as mud!

What this means is that an object moves in the direction in which the "net" force is pushing it...

If a force is pushing an object in a single direction (actually that is the only thing that can happen) and it has absolutely no opposition...the object will only go in that direction...

If there is an equal and direct force opposing the forward driving force, the object remains motionless...

If the opposing force is at at some angle other than directly opposing it...the object moves in a direction...equal to the difference...in exactly the opposite difference...

I know it is too early in the morning...

There are some interesting conclusions that we can draw...that can help us as leaders!

1 - Direction towards our goals...
2 - The need for community...

Let's work through each...one at a time...

The fallacy of leadership...

I bet everyone has heard and believes that a leader's purpose is to drive an effort towards conclusion...

Sounds reasonable doesn't it?

The fact of the matter is...it is wrong!

If an object is in motion...it will continue in that direction...unless acted upon by an outside force...

THE REAL role of a leader is to stop the outside forces from influencing the effort!

In "trekkie" terms...the leader is the force field that protects the ship...and allows it to move without getting influenced by the space trash and debris!

Some leaders (Many...OK MOST) wrongly believe that their role is to drive the effort...

The fact of the matter is...if an effort stalls...it is usually not an internal issue...

It is a problem with the leader!

Newton told us that...

"An object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by some outside force..."

A leader's energy is wasted by pushing something that is already moving...

Their value is found in keeping external forces from interfering with the effort...

OK...some of us do not have a team...

The exact same stuff holds true for individual efforts...

DRIVE forward and focus some of your efforts from interfering from success or diverting you...

Drop the pity parties...and the excuses...

DO NOT allow prior commitments interfere with your goals!

The answer "No" carries a different meaning for the real leader...it means...not this way...or you haven't convinced me yet...try again!

To change an outcome...you have to change the components from which it is made...

To go from a cake to a pie...you must change the ingredients and the order in which they are combined...

The same is true for us...don't like the outcome?  Change what is inside...

Hmmmmmm...that is the direction isn't it...

Push yourself in a certain direction...and you'll continue to go in that direction...unless influenced by something on the outside...

Then it is a matter of...keeping "stuff" from changing your direction...because you like where you are going...

or...

Allowing "stuff" to slightly change your direction...because it makes your direction better...

Enough Said!

Let's think about community...

The cool and simplest thought is that community can be a push...an addition to that forward motion...

A good leader is also aware that the community can also strongly influence direction...because of the sheer mass of it!

But I want us to think about another role of community...

The role of deflection!

Let's go back in history...to the Romans...

What made their military so strong?

Many analysts believe that it was that they marched forward!

I know...it can not be as simple as that...

In a way it was!

The legions could march forward or stand their ground for that matter...because each soldier could depend on the soldiers on either side of them...

They did not have to worry about defecting attacks from any direction...because they could depend on their community for that protection...(deflection) and they could concentrate on their role...which was to stand their ground...or march forward!

We are soldiers in this battle...

Build a community around you and be an active part of that community...

Success is not an individual endeavor...those who think it is...are sadly deluded!

Failure is all your fault...but success is ours!

Use Newton's laws to your advantage...

And you thought Newton was just for physics!

It is also very important to know in relation to community and your success!

Enough Said!

Have a great weekend...

By the Way...how would you describe your week?

I bet you thought I forgot about that!

Pura Vida!