Here’s number 4 in a series of ten maxims I find myself repeating often. I hope they resonate with you as they do with scores of business owners and leaders we have coached, advised, or otherwise helped.
Sometimes a tree is a tree, and a rock is a rock. Don’t Expect a Tree to Be a Rock.
Trying to get a person (an employee, a colleague, even a client) to be something they are not – and cannot be – wastes time, energy, and money.
Yes, explore the options. Yes, light the fires under them. But know where the boundaries are and learn to distinguish them. With employees, for instance, many leaders we’ve worked with find the EOS (Entrepreneurs Operating System) measure of Get It/Want It/Capacity to Do It is a useful tool to identify the rocks and the trees.
Don’t Expect a Tree to Be a Rock.
We need both trees and rocks. Rocks provide stability – a base to build on, as well as strong building material. Trees provide oxygen as well as color, variety, and habitat for other living things.
You get the analogies for business, right? We need both – in the right places. But Don’t Expect a Tree to Be a Rock.
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Check out our previously-posted Maxims for Impact and Effectiveness:
#1 Take the Principled Approach
#2 A VUCA Prime Mindset
#3 Trust but Verify
Watch this space for numbers 5-10 – coming soon!
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