One step at a time…

I kinda lost the view this week of that very wise statement in the subject title line. Just as Rome was not changed in a day, nothing else in life comes that way. And while change is necessary, so is a measure of temperance in how we effect it, respecting that which was done by others as the best there was at that moment, and helping all be elevated to where the common good prevails in delivering value beyond the price paid. Whether this is about a business, a charitable organization or a church/temple/mosque, each organization which places at its heart and soul a desire to move the bar up will win.

In order to accomplish this, its fair to say that everyone will come from a different place and have a different view (in some cases strong ones which touch them at their core) and so how to navigate everyone’s right to respect, yet help steer a ship in the right path, is the job of a leader. By no means am I saying I’m one, or if I am, even a good one at that. And sometimes it may mean we move aside to let someone better equipped handle a job we used to do, either because the needs of the organization must trump our own, or because of circumstance internal to us which requires a change.

Yet I do believe that any organization which fails to have a vision which is clear, communicated and acted upon, will not succeed. So ask yourself what is your vision, or does your “leadership” communicate to you a clear one. Remember that its doing the best it can, so if the vision is not clear to you, all you have to do is ask them to step up and communicate in a way that you can understand. You, your colleagues, your customers, your vendors, your shareholders and all others working with you deserve that.

So if you are going to effect change, be a change agent in the most positive sense, even if what you find has been done in the past does not measure up to where you envision taking the task at hand. Honor what was done, be steadfast in your passion to make it move to a higher bar, and do all that with respect and integrity as your mark.

Sass