Patience and Perseverance

I heard once that perseverance pays off, and I must add, eventually.  Thus we need to connect patience with perseverance and we have a much better chance of the payoff.  Herewith, an excerpt from Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

We are, quite naturally,

impatient in everything to reach the end

without delay.

We should like to skip

the intermediate stages.

We are impatient of being

On the way to something unknown

something new,

And yet it is the law of all progress

that it is made by passing through

some stages of instability ---

And that it may take a very long time.

Your ideas mature gradually -

let them grow,

let them shape themselves,

without undue haste.
Don't try to force them on,

as though you could be today

what time (that is to say, grace and

circumstances acting

on your own good will)

will make you tomorrow.

......accept the anxiety of

feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.

VERNAL EQUINOX 2012

In the Northern Hemisphere on March 20, 2012, at 1:14 A.M. (EDT) Spring officially arrived on this part of the planet.  When I learned about the Southern Hemisphere many years ago, I wondered how the good people there connected Spring to Easter.  I am not sure I still understand it completely, but having been in the Southern Hemisphere recently, it seemed to me that the folks there don't worry about it all that much.  And the fact is that this March 20 is the autumnal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere.  So much for that!

We know that vernal refers to that which is fresh and young, like the new growth that occurs so much in evidence everywhere in nature.  As I look out on the nearby fields, I see new baby calves, lambs and the baby chicks are arriving soon on our own small acreage.  However, we didn't hatch them this year, we ordered them to be delivered by U.S. Mail!  Spring is a reaffirmation of hope and it's a time for planting seeds and welcoming new growth on all kinds of trees and plants.   It's saying good-bye to Winter and a entering a 3-month transition period to Summer.  Some of us remember the vigorous rituals of Spring housecleaning.  My mother washed all the curtains and hung them out on a stretcher to dry and the entire house was given a thorough cleaning, top to bottom, scrub a dub dub.  The place even smelled clean.

Equinox is Latin for "equal night" and refers to that time when daylight and night time are of equal proportions. At the equinoxes, the tilt of Earth relative to the Sun is zero, which means that Earth’s axis neither points toward nor away from the Sun. (However, the tilt of Earth relative to its plane of orbit, called the ecliptic plane, is always about 23.5 degrees.)  So much for that.  To try and make some kind of adjustment, we go through this rather silly exercise of trying to save a little more daylight by changing the clocks to have more light at the end of the day.  The history of Daylight Savings Time is interesting and illustrates our feeble attempts to manipulate time to our advantage. Since 2007, daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November, with all time changes taking place at 2:00 AM (0200) local time.

So what are we to make of this seasonal shift?  Perhaps Alexander Pope said it best:

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never Is, but always To be blest:
The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

An Essay on Man, Epistle I, 1733 

Find your own special ways to celebrate Spring whether through ritual and planting, embracing new growth both external and internal, or simply stopping for awhile to observe all that is near and dear.  Then choose to participate in this annual renewal of hope, growth and the buds that signal flower and fruit.  We are all part of this wonder filled creation that we call Nature, thus it is that we are connected to that life-giving force that renews and regenerates.  As Robin Williams said, "Spring is nature's way of saying, let's party!"

THE TIME IS NOW

Personal sacrifice is a high price to pay for what you believe, what you do and who you are as a leader.   On Tuesday, March 6, 2012, Dale Regan, head of the Episcopal School of Jacksonville, was murdered in her office by a former teacher, disgruntled and disturbed by being dismissed earlier.  You can read about Dale here http://blog.esjcs.org/?p=286 and there is a larger issue that concerned leaders would do well to address and it is this.

Violence in our culture has reached epidemic proportions and no one, it seems, is able to get a handle on how to address and mitigate the misery and suffering that are the result of such acts of terrorism.  They are nothing less than heinous acts of depravity against our humanity, as individuals, as communities, families and even against one's self.  Since the Columbine massacre in April of 1999 there have been over 120 school shootings in the United States. 

The statistics are all recorded for anyone to see such as 142 murders in 2010 in New Mexico where I live, with a population of only 2 million people.  That was down from 189 the year before.  In California the number of homicides in 2010 was 1,809, down from 1,970 in 2009.  Let's hope the trend continues downward.   Homicides  (over 16,000 in the U.S. in 2008) do not include suicides and in 2008 there were over 34,000 suicides nationwide.  That alone is an epidemic and if 34,000 people died in one year of some disease in this country the Center for Disease Control would be all over it.  Maybe there should be a Center for Self-Control.

Where does it begin and how can we understand some of the root causes that, as responsible leaders, we might address?  In 1973, I participated in a university research project that studied violence in children's television programs and how it affected their behavior.  It was clear from that carefully conducted study that aggressive behavior in children increased significantly as a result of such programming.  Consider the ensuing 37 years and what has happened in our culture and in our society that may immunize us against violent behaviors. What do you make of our acceptance of costly and ongoing wars that we justify by identifying an enemy so that we can blast them into oblivion and sacrifice our own young men and women in the process?  The debate about whether the violence in movies, video games, and other visuals has any negative effect on young people and adults continues.
Suffice to say here that the U.S. Army uses a video very similar to some of the electronic games to train soldiers to be desensitized against their feelings about killing another person.

Schools have begun to take bullying more seriously, looking for ways to prevent it as well as responding strongly when it happens.  Concerned students are stepping forward to take an active role with their peers who may feel isolated and marginalized.  Schools and community leaders are helping parents find more creative and productive ways to help children participate in positive and constructive activities.  Service learning programs are on the increase that show young people the value of working together to improve the living conditions of everyone whether through social service or community projects that range from protecting the environment to building a habitat.
Restoration projects demonstrate the value of preservation of our resources both natural and human. Mentoring programs connect young people with responsible adults in the larger community.  Working with the younger generation is where we must begin and the time is now.

The Effective and Efficient Leader

Leaders have an enormous array of expectations placed on them by a variety of types and kinds of people from Boards of Directors to employees.  How does one meet the needs of different constituencies and still have the time and energy for a personal life? Communicating with confidence and clarity, delegating wisely and being accessible are but a few strategies for effective leadership.  There are many more tactics available for those who want to work smarter, not harder and longer.

There seems to be a premium being placed on how busy one is, how full the calendar appears, how many meetings one attends, how much can be crammed into a day, week or month.  We've become adept at multi-tasking,

multi-use, multi-purpose, multi-function to the point where the multiplication of jobs and applications of energy make one both weary and wary of work as we once knew it.  Research shows it is also terribly inefficient and nearly as productive as some may want to believe.

Consider the difference between your work and your job.  Then look at some of the specific expectations top-level leaders and managers.  Remind yourself of the results of anxiety, stress and fatigue.  And finally, find some plausible alternatives, in addition to a genuine sabbatical, for renewal and regeneration of body, mind and spirit. 

Work is that which we commit ourselves to do using our talents, our skills our time and energy because that's what we love to do.  It's what we care about, it's what we are passionate about, it's what we believe and sometimes what we know from experience that makes a difference in the lives of other people.  Work is part of who we are, it's a privilege and a joy and it is not only what we do, but it is also part of our identity - CEO is much more than a title; Director of a division or Manager of a department is a lot more than directing and managing.

A job, on the other hand, is often what we have to do to get to our work.   A job is something that must be done in order to keep things straight - things like schedules, maintenance, reports, or things that aren't necessarily a priority for you but may well be for someone else.  It's possible for someone to dearly love creating reports or to really like making the place look great and that can be their work.  It might even be part of your work but one needs to be clear that it's nearly impossible to put the same high priority on more than ten or twelve things simultaneously.

Paper work, forms, regulations, all the "stuff" that also takes time, energy and skill often requires supervision and oversight if not your direct involvement.    You may think it's just semantics to separate job and work but it's one way of carving out that which we really like to do, look forward to doing and that which is more mundane and not necessarily the most exciting and rewarding part of what we do.  Ask yourself if you look forward to going to work.  Seldom do people say I am going to a job and yet we talk about job descriptions not work descriptions.

 

Nan Keohane, a former president of Wellesley,  said that the head of any organization has three big challenges.  I believe the same can be said for a division or department head or director as well.  One challenge is to solve problems, and I would add, anticipate them to the degree possible so that those problems do not escalate and become a crisis.

The second challenge is to make things happen, i.e. find the ways through planning and implementation to realize the stated goals and objectives and the third challenge is to take a stand.  That means making hard decisions and being able to make them stick.   Is there anything you do that doesn't fit into one of those three big categories?

As a CEO or director, you wear that identity wherever you are and you do so

with appropriate pride and confidence.  To be a CEO, a head, a director, a leader is something that is chosen and consciously pursued. It is not merely a response to an invitation to the dance.   When one chooses to be in the position of being responsible for results it comes as no surprise that everyone is watching and evaluating your performance. 

Establishing priorities, having a systematic organization that functions at a high level of efficiency and effectiveness – the well-oiled machine – and knowing who you are in your role along with how you communicate that status go a long way toward being able to meet the multiple demands and expectations that come along with the position.

THE GIFT OF EACH DAY

I just read somewhere that if you want an extra day, you just had one.  What did you do with it? The reference was to February 29,  being Leap Day and if you didn't catch the recent 30 Rock episode devoted to a celebration of Leap Day, find it.  It's worth a chuckle or two, especially Leap Day William.

My own take on an extra day is that every day is a gift and a great way to begin the day is to start with that same question, what will you make of it?  You see, the truth is that we don't actually know how many days we will have, as they are definitely numbered, and we're most fortunate, for many reasons, to have come this far.  Thus, I start out also with gratitude for being given the opportunities that lie ahead to make the most of this day, today, February 29.  That it is presented once every four years to catch up with a rather weird calendar of minutes in an hour, hours in a day, days in a week, weeks in a month and months in a year is of no consequence.

For a long, long time, since I was a kid who delighted in snow (and still do), I have had this vision of a new day being like newly fallen snow.  No one, especially me, had made any tracks in it yet.  I look out on this new day and there it is, laid out for me in all its splendor with hundreds of possibilities and choices as to how I will engage, with whom, on what terms, for what purpose and where I will be present and make a mark.  And the day begins.

I have a routine, like most people, and mine starts with some meditation, reflection and prayer, often before my feet hit the floor, but many times while sitting or even standing upright.  Position can be very important for thinking, feeling, seeing, musing and planning.  Right now, to my left, is a large body of water, Elliott Bay, in Seattle.  Since I live in the high desert, I often choose to stay on or very near water when I travel as it gives me a deep and visceral connection with one of the elements that nurtures life including my own.

I have already started making my tracks in this day and they will continue with an informal breakfast meeting with a colleague and friend, more encounters and conversations at a national conference of several thousand educators, welcoming my wife flying up from California, seeing long time friends and associates, enjoying a dinner this evening sponsored by an architectural firm in San Antonio and so on.  I will avoid as many formal meetings as possible and probably end the day by reading some of my current night stand book, A New Culture of Learning: Cultivating the Imagination for a World of Constant Change.  And I will finally review the day to see what kinds of tracks I made, the swiggly curves here and there, the intersections, the pathways, the connections and then turn it over, let it go
and welcome sleep.  At least, that's the outline and plan.   Will it go exactly as I think it will?  Of course not and that's perfectly OK.  I am open to learning something new and taking a different tack.

Since I regard each new day as a gift, to be unwrapped, surprised by grace and celebrated joyfully as often as possible it's even exciting to contemplate the possibilities.  Will they all be realized?  No, but if I can even embrace 50% of the possibilities that lie ahead, what a great day it will be!  I hope you enjoy your day, that you make the most and best of it and have the time of your life.  Now, off I go to see what I can give to this day that has been given to me. 

Honoring Dad - February 24, 1912

My Dad would have been 100 yesterday and my thoughts about him included a lot of memories that are both vivid and meaningful.  In my 75th year, I have now lived ten years beyond what he was given. During those 42 years that I knew him, loved him and was guided and inspired by him, much of what I learned remains of value for me to this day and thus I want to honor not only his life but so much that he gave to me and many others.

He and my mother started their life together just out of high school.  Neither of them went to college and they worked together in a butcher shop and grocery store in West Manchester, Ohio.  A few years later, my Dad went to work as a salesman for a wholesale grocery company, Westerfield Brothers, and they moved 14 miles north to Greenville, Ohio.  That is where I was born in 1937, and my brother appeared 4 years later.  I remember Dad settling up his accounts on a card table in our living room and he advanced in that business to become Vice-President in charge of Finance.  The business liquidated after World War II with the advent of large chain grocery stores that replaced all the Mom and Pop stores that Westerfield's serviced.  Dad went on to become the GM of a car dealership and finally was the city auditor in his later years.  When he was appointed, and later elected, I recall a friend saying that it looked like he was going to be on the public dole.  My Dad responded with, "If I can't save you and this city enough to pay my salary several times over, then I shouldn't have the job."  Needless to say perhaps but he was successful not only in managing the city's finances efficiently but also in building new water and sewage treatment plants, in improving public safety and fire protection, and in taking care of the city's infrastructure that included streets, utilities and parks.

Here are a few selected highlights of my memories of my Dad..  He loved to fish, finally bought a small 12' Sears fiberglass boat and a Johnson 10 horse outboard motor and we would haul that thing all the way to Ontario every summer for many years to enjoy a week in a cabin at Twin Pines on Lake Mississagagon.  My brother still returns there from time to time with his son and grandson although I haven't been back but once after we stopped going as a family.  My Dad also taught me to hunt, mostly rabbits and pheasants and squirrels, and for him it was more for food than sport as he was a product of The Great Depression and knew many survival skills.   He was also a great DIY guy and had a small wood shop in the basement complete with table saw, jig saw, sander and many hand tools.
Not only did he know how to butcher both big and small animals, but he could build things, paint houses, plant gardens and fix just about anything.  I was often surprised by how much he knew and how he had learned all that he did including accounting and bookkeeping.

My Dad was active as a Boy Scout leader, as a Sunday School teacher and both he and my mother sang in the church choir.  They had many friends, many of which emanated from their church community and we often visited with other families and celebrated many holidays with several families or relatives.  Trips to grandparents homes for Sunday dinners were frequent as well. My Dad's big trip was to Hong Kong, a trip that my mother won on some radio contest.  He wrote a letter to me and one to my brother, said we were only to open them in the event of power failure while aloft or some other unforeseen event that might prevent their return.  I never saw that letter but I can easily imagine that it said everything was in order, they owed no one anything and that we would find directions for how their estate was to be handled.  For that is how it was when he died and later on as well, when my mother, at 96, also left this world.  He was always prepared.

There were many life lessons that my Dad gave to me one way or another.  I know that I often challenged his and my mother's parental prerogatives and usually, instead of just being punished for some infraction or misstep, he included a learning experience.  When I was caught smoking cigars behind the garage with Harvey Wilt, I had to write on a yellow legal pad, 500 times, "I will not smoke until I am old enough to know better."   I never did acquire a taste for tobacco.   When I lifted a comic book from the G.C. Murphy 10 cents store, he made me take it back and confess my transgression in person to the manager.  I was both ashamed and embarrassed sufficiently not to try that one again.

One Sunday, sitting in those hard, oak church pews, I saw the ushers passing large brass plates into which people were putting real money and envelopes with money in them.  We had a box of those envelopes and every week as much as $10 or more went into that envelope to be placed in that offering plate.  I asked my Dad if I could take some money out and he, with his characteristic wisdom and candor, said, "Yes, you can take some out, but remember always to put in more than you take out."  That was a life lesson that extended far beyond church!

Dad lived his life in service to others whether as a public servant, a member of a local service club or as a community leader.  He was a Civil Defense Air Raid Warden during World War II, he helped other people with businesses and farms with their taxes and accounting, he helped his own family of origin with their own needs and projects and gave unselfishly of this time and talent to many causes which he believed to be important.  He seemed to me to be someone who wanted to make things better and he was very good at finding ways to do that.  I know he made me a lot better and for that I am both blessed and grateful.

Learning from Choice and Consequence

Some years ago I learned that over 85% of adolescents believe that consequences can only be negative, undesirable and to be avoided.  When I explained that it’s possible to have a good consequence the kids thought that was an oxymoron or a contradiction of terms.  I said that consequence is synonymous with result and that depending on the choice, the consequence can be either positive and constructive or negative and destructive. 

As I pursued the reasons why most kids believed the negative association with consequences, it became clear that parents had, in many instances communicated a message or a response that “suffering the consequences” was a punishment for making a bad choice. They had not communicated that it’s possible to have a “good” consequence.  Parents weren’t alone in this communication as teachers and other adult authority figures beam the same message, consequences are undesirable.  Actually, they are unavoidable as there is a result for every choice we make.  How can we help others learn from the choices they have made and learn in advance for the choices they are yet to make?

One way to help people learn the choice/consequence relationship is to ask them to provide examples of both kinds of choices , good and not so good, and to consider the results of those actions, behaviors or choices.  By examining their own personal choices there could be a greater likelihood for them to internalize the message rather than an adult providing the example.  Then, ask those same people to make some projections into the future.  Since every choice now in front of them is either in the present or the future and past choices cannot be changed, they can realize that they have greater power to influence the outcome in the next choice.  Ask what might they like to change if they really had an opportunity to do something over again.  What can be learned from that careful, thoughtful review?

In order to change the outcome or at least influence a result which might be more to our liking, it’s important that we consider the options in advance.  We might even want to review the choices and see what others might be available and not limit ourselves to an either/or proposition.  There could well be a third or even fourth option yet to be considered.  One specific example is when someone is faced with a yes or no request, a third option could be to wait and get more information.  That could yield a more intelligent choice with a better outcome (consequence) than projected originally.

It's About Time!

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Here is an interesting phrase, “taking time off” because one can not really ever turn time off.  What we mean is "time out" from the usual and ordinary, perhaps to invest in the unusual and extraordinary.   Like it says in the old ads for Timex, it just keeps on ticking and one day, we will run out of time, or walk out, or lie down and check out.  Think of some of the amusing ways people speak about time.  “I didn’t have time to do it.”  What they really mean is they did not choose to take the time to do it, whatever “it” was, but who is going to say that?    How about this one?  “It’s time to eat.”  That was mother calling from the kitchen.  Whether you were actually hungry or not didn’t matter.  It was “time” for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  One family I knew quite well, not my own, sat down precisely at 5:30 PM every evening for dinner and everyone was expected to be there and be on time.  Being “on time” is highly important to many people but different cultures regard that behavior with more or less value.  Personal priorities about being “on time” may also vary.

Researchers have found that individuals are divided in two groups in the ways they approach time.  The Iowa State University Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning puts it this way:

"Monochronic individuals are those who prefer to complete one task at a time. For them, task-oriented time is distinguished from socio-emotional time. In other words, there is a time to play and a time to work. These individuals value punctuality, completing tasks, and keeping to schedules. They view time as if it were linear, that is, one event happening at a time. Examples of monochronic cultures include the U.S., Israel, Germany, and Switzerland.
Polychronic individuals, on the other hand, are more flexible about time schedules; they have no problem integrating task-oriented activities with socio-emotional ones. For them, maintaining relationships and socializing are more important than accomplishing tasks. These individuals usually see time in a more holistic manner; in other words, many events may happen at once. Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa are places where the polychronic orientation prevails.
In certain cities in the U.S., it is not uncommon for us to find timetables or daily schedules for buses or trains. If the bus is to be at a certain stop at 10:09 PM, for example, one can expect that to happen at the designated time, give or take a minute.
For polychronic individuals such precise timetables are mind-boggling, as many of them are simply used to going to the bus stop and waiting – not knowing whether they will be waiting for five or forty-five minutes. That is just the way things are.
This difference in time orientation is reflected in the complaints of U.S. business people conducting business in Saudi Arabia or in Mexico, for example. A big source of frustration for them is the difficulty of getting through a meeting’s agenda. That is because in these countries meetings begin with an extended socializing time in which time is spent establishing social rapport – usually over many cups of coffee or tea."

We are often like Pavlov’s dog.  The bell rings and we respond whether by changing activities, answering a call or checking something in the oven.  We are conditioned and regulated by time.  It’s “time” to go to bed.  It’s “time” to get up.  It’s “time” to go to work.  It’s “time out” and “time” to start again.  It’s “time” for the meeting.  It’s “time” to leave in order to get there in a reasonable amount of time.  It’s all about time and yet time is an invention, a construct for our convenience and we are bound by it.  How we measure time and how we use it reveals an enormous amount about who we are as individuals and who we are as a culture.

Here’s a phrase that amuses me because of the double entendre. “It’s about time” we say, meaning usually that we have waited for some time for something or other to happen and finally, it has taken place. Whether that expresses gratitude, relief or annoyance depends upon the context.  A long-awaited package arrives at the door and we say, “It’s about time!”   And really, it is simply that it has taken longer than was expected or desired for the delivery to be accomplished.  Big deal!  Get over it!  At least we got the package.

In order to get more done in the same amount of time the phenomenon of multi-tasking has appeared and it seems to have arrived in conjunction with the advent of computers that are able to perform several functions at the same time.   Recent research at Stanford on multi-tasking shows that people who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information do not pay attention, control their memory or switch from one job to another as well as those who prefer to complete one task at a time.

High-tech jugglers are everywhere – keeping up several e-mail and instant message conversations at once, text messaging while watching television and jumping from one website to another while plowing through homework assignments.  But after putting about 100 students through a series of three tests, the researchers realized those heavy media multi-taskers are paying a big mental price.

When it comes to our brain’s ability to pay attention, the brain focuses on concepts sequentially and not on two things at once. In fact, the brain must disengage from one activity in order to engage in another. And it takes several tenths of a second for the brain to make this switch. As John Medina, author of “Brain Rules” says: “To put it bluntly, research shows that we can’t multitask. We are biologically incapable of processing attention-rich inputs simultaneously.” ( http://brainrules.blogspot.com/2008/03/brain-cannot-multitask_16.html)

When we are in situations where there are multiple sources of information coming from the external world or emerging out of memory, we are apparently not able to filter out what's not relevant to our current goal.  That failure to filter means we are slowed down by that irrelevant information."

However, that said, there are examples and instances that may show some exceptions and here is one such illustration.  The song, “The Time of My Life” which was the music and lyrics used in the final scene of the movie Dirty Dancing with Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, was written by Frankie Previte.   Previte said: "I received a call from Jimmy Ienner who asked me to write a song for this little movie.  I told him I didn't have the time and he said, 'Make time. This could change your life.'"  Frankie's former bandmate John DeNicola and his friend Don Marowitz came up with the music for the song. Says Previte, "I received a track from John and Donny and I wrote the lyric and melody for the chorus in the car while I was driving along the Garden State Parkway, going to a studio session for another song."

Here’s the message:  Making or taking time to do what is really important can change your life. The question is, what is really important?  And if you’re driving, be careful!

Learning from Looking and Watching

We live on a river in northern New Mexico. In the winter, the river is populated with a variety of ducks swimming up and downstream, lots of Canada geese who swim, fly and honk their way along the river and some beavers who are my nemesis.  I am learning from all of them.
I watch the ducks, buffleheads, common goldeneyes and others as they swim, either alone or in small flocks, sometimes diving and feeding, other times riding the current downstream along the far edge and I wonder how many of their daylight hours are spent just looking for food.  Sometimes they seem to be just playing and enjoying the diving and splashing, just for the fun of it.   I used to think the phrase "free as a bird" wasn't very accurate because birds seemed busy all the time, either feeding, nesting, caring for their young or avoiding predators such as our stalking cats.  Even the hawks and eagles must soar on occasion, just for the sheer joy of catching those updrafts, without any thought of needing food.  I should probably play more often, either alone or with others.

The geese are usually in large flocks and in those famous V-formations, resting on the river before flying to various adjacent fields in order to eat, mostly a vegetarian diet of grasses and grains.  They also seem to spend a lot of the nights on the water, safe from most of their land bound predators.  I hear them talking to each other in muted tones, probably going over the day's events and making plans for tomorrow.   No, that's my projection of what I do each evening, reviewing the day past, preparing for the one ahead.  The geese often swim silently upstream along the inner edge of the river and when the river is low, they are out of sight, hidden by the bank, although occasionally they will risk a stroll onto the land, only to be chased off by one of our dogs.  The lesson learned from the geese is the transfer of leadership of the flock as the one out front drops back and lets the next one in line move forward.

I am learning slowly to co-exist with the beavers, allowing them to take their share, more than they deserve I think, of trees and shrubs to build their huts.  They are the largest rodent in North America and like most rodents, we humans find them to be undesirable and destructive pests although in the eco-system of ponds and rivers, I suppose they serve a purpose.  It's an uneasy truce for now as I have all but given up trying to protect all of my trees from their need to feed and build.  They have taken innumerable trees, some of which I don't mind and lots of willow which is denuding the bank along the river.  Enough will be enough at some point and I will need to figure out another strategy for deterrence.   It's a game of sorts and at this point the beavers are clearly ahead.  I will be back in the game come Spring.

Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way

Whether this was a bumper sticker or just intended as a catchy slogan, the message is fairly clear.  First of all, it does not ask a question.  It's in the imperative voice and asks for a choice or a response.  You may or may not choose to lead.  You may or may not choose to follow the leader.  If you wish to be neither a leader nor follower then the message is get out of the way of those who have made a choice and know what they are doing.  They have declared their conscious and intentional role and they are committed to a particular set of actions.  Whether or not they are effective in those roles may be assessed by others according to whatever tools and measurements will be most informative and productive. 

Conscious and intentional choosing and not merely responding to what is presented can shift ones energy and help to focus on that which will be more in alignment with ones goals and desired outcomes.  There are times when it is necessary or incumbent upon us to respond and in so doing make sure that we are being pro-active and not just reactive.   More conscious choosing!

If you are trying to influence another person or a group, then it is imperative that you understand what is required of you as a leader to appreciate the view, the position, and the needs of the other person or group.  If you are a follower, then it is imperative that you are able to be in some kind of dialogue with the leader to have clear expectations that are mutually agreeable and acceptable, knowing that there can and probably will be times of conflict and disagreement.  But that is merely part of the process and not to be avoided.  Disagreement, if respectful and open, can be very productive.

Lead, follow or get out of the way sounds like a plan of action and if you are unsure, uncommitted, uninterested and uninvolved, that too may be your choice but let at least be semi-conscious!