For a very long time I have been friends with a fellow I will call Robert. He worked for many years in a large financial planning organization, before breaking off and starting his own firm. It is sort of a 1 person deal with a part-time administrative helper. Robert is one of us “LUCKY DUCKS” who married WAY up and his wonderful Bride had her own very successful career for many years before retiring not too long ago.
Early in their marriage they were blessed with 2 daughters who were in their words, “a breeze to raise”. And then a bit later in life here came Robert Jr., AKA Bobby. In spite of his best efforts to give Mom and Dad several strokes, Bobby managed to graduate from high school not too long ago without any kind of major troubles.
Before heading off to College, Dad and Son, both American History Buffs, arranged a 10 or 12 day “Boys Trip” to visit the Old South, complete with Mansion Tours, and Civil War Battleground settings. Dad had to work like crazy to get stuff in order to be gone that long and was “plum worn out” by the time to begin the journey about 5 p.m. on Friday afternoon.
They agreed that Bobby would take the first leg of the journey as driver so Dad could recover a bit. Robert fell sound asleep in the Passenger Seat and was out for several hours. Upon awakening, he was looking around to get his “bearings” and nothing looked familiar to him in terms of their location. Not wishing to “spoil” their time, he waited as long as he could tolerate the uncertainty, and finally asked…Bobby where are we? The response is the above Title of this Tale.
I have told that story many times in various Leadership Training settings where my task was to present some Principles that might be applicable to a variety of audiences.
If we are unclear on what direction, on any and all levels of Life to pursue, we might recall that “Having lost sight of our objective, we don’t want to respond by doubling our efforts”. That only ensures we may be headed in the WRONG Direction at TWICE the speed.
Leaders, whether at Home, Church, Business, Community Service, or pick your own setting, can make a big mistake by confusing GIVING directions vs FINDING the proper direction. The establishment of a mutually agreeable sense of purpose/direction and then following that, while making small adjustments along the way, seems to me to be a proper approach.
But then again, when The Boss Lady says Good Morning to me, some days I am stuck for a proper response. So take this here Tale with a grain of Salt or a Tea Spoon of Pepto Bismol, or whatever seems best for you to digest it properly!