Watch for Pebbles - Part 1

Written by Brian McElyea

There is an old proverb that goes something like this; “Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have climbed the mountain”. This proverb has tremendous application in business today. Clearly planned and sequential steps focused on three elements—results, guiding ideas and evidence—seem to illuminate the pebbles and prevent the stumbling. Think of a mountainous problem you’ve recently encountered at work that requires a solution. Often, we jump at things we might put into place to solve the problem (we call those “things” structures). In the new leadership paradigm, we attempt to think differently. We ask ourselves, “in solving this problem, what result are we seeking?” Once that result is clearly defined, we now ask ourselves, “in order to achieve the result we are seeking, what action items must we accomplish?” That question speaks to the guiding ideas. Lastly, we prompt ourselves to think about evidence we must generate that the guiding idea is being accomplished in order for our result to be realized. It isn’t until we’ve drafted these three elements that we begin to think about what structures are necessary to achieve our result. It is a leader’s responsibility to focus on the three elements (results, guiding ideas, and evidence) and the manager’s responsibility to lead the structures—always ensuring the evidence they are generating is leading to the results they are trying to achieve. By practicing this results-oriented strategy, individuals will find that they climb the mountain and maneuver around the pebbles without stumbling nearly as much. Of course, in this process there will always be times when we stumble. The key is to learn and appreciate the mistakes we make along the way to climbing the mountain. The wisdom is best stated by a Japanese proverb: “Fall seven times, stand up eight.” And recall the words of St. Augustine: “Patience is the companion of wisdom.” In our next newsletter, I will discuss the full domain of action that Jorgensen Learning Center utilizes…these elements are only part of the triangle to which we subscribe.