Growing up, I sometimes I thought about doing some of the hardest jobs such as President of the United States or running a large corporation. I have always felt that I could do just about any job with the proper training and with a commitment to do the right thing, no matter what. Of course that might not be true for all jobs, but I am still naive enough to think I can learn almost anything.
I used to envision the call to meet at the situation room for a briefing on a terrorist threat and making a clear decision to do the right thing. I would imagine the board asking me whether we should acquire company X or implement strategy Y. After a dramatic pause, I make a brilliant move because I knew it was the right decision. Good vs. evil. Right vs. wrong. Black and white.
Clarity……………..a fantasy?
Why are day-to-day decisions so unclear? Shouldn’t we be able to decide how to spend that marketing budget, whether to reply all to that email, or when to hire that person, based on each option’s rightness?
The world is often gray and unclear, but I challenge you to try to step back from the pros/cons lists, the reasoning and justifications, the politics, and simply say, “is this the right thing to do?“
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