Targeted Outcomes

Twixt 2012 and 2030

Stephen M. Gower, CSP

The 2012 Story by John Major Jenkins and Twenty Thirty by Albert Brooks stand beside each other on the bookshelf in my library. The two books are close together literally, but so disparate, one from the other, at point of content.

The 2012 Story addresses what has become the controversy surrounding the theory that 2012 ushers in the end of the world. Twenty Thirty, by its very title, suggests that 2012 cannot possibly be the “end of it all” because there is a 2030.

The polarity of the two books is intriguing, but we must not be distracted by the tension between the two. I belong to the group who does not know the future, but knows Who holds the future. My lot is cast with those who choose not to be distracted by intellectual gymnastics, but seek to focus on the day and the impending future. “Seek” is the appropriate verb because when we attempt to “stay on track” rather than become “distracted” by the foray, we often travel by detour.

Focusing on what lies immediately ahead is facilitated when we: 1) build a day-by-day plan and take responsibility for action on that plan, 2) secure and utilize an “Army of Allies and an Arsenal of Resources,” 3) celebrate incremental “finished-ness” - honoring each completed-step as opposed to celebrating only at destination- arrival.

Soon we will be thrust into the thick of it - “Twixt 2012 and 2030.” We can choose distraction or we can seek to stay on the track named “today.”

The Total Package

Graham Gandee, PT

Several decades ago, Saturday nights were a very special time in the South. Lex Lugar was a professional wrestler that would come to town. It was an exciting time. For many of us, Mr. Lugar was known as the “King of the Hill” or as“The Total Package.” He had all the right moves and muscles. When he was at the top of his game, he appeared to be “The Total Package.” It was as if you could take the best of everyone else and infuse it into Mr. Lugar.

Thinking about the phrase “total package” can lead us to the conviction that it is a little more than an illusion. We are human beings who are allowed to make our own choices and sometimes we make the wrong choices. Our energy is most wisely used, not when we attempt to be the composite of the best of everyone else, but when we seek to be the best we can be and seek help when needed. I have a friend who likes to say that he gave up practicing to be perfect. He further stated that once he ceased trying to be perfect, or “The Total Package,” he grew significantly.

Last weekend, I took my oldest son, who is age three, to his first professional baseball game. That was a special moment for my son and me. We noticed the excitement on the fans' faces. What I did not notice was any one player on the field playing every position. They were “professionals” playing as a team, not a “total package.” No one player could play every base at the same time. These professionals knew how to work together for the good of the team.

Targeted Reading

Only the Paranoid Survive –
How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Company and Career
by Andrew S. Grove

It comes as no surprise that Only the Paranoid Survive (Copyright 1996) is one of the books featured in The 100 Best Business Books of All Time – What They Say, Why They Matter, and How They Can Help You by Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten (Copyright 2009). Andy Grove continues to be respected for leading Intel into a position in the top tier of the Fortune 500.

A lifetime of stellar leadership is capsuled in a book that runs slightly over 200 pages. In the preface, the author reminds us that “Sooner or later, something fundamental in your business world will change.” The book-core addresses what Andy Grove refers to as Strategic Inflection Points. He asks and answers a key question: “How do we know whether a change signals a strategic inflection point? The only way is through the process of clarification that comes from broad and intensive debate.” This work focuses on strategic intention points within a culture of change: 1) competition, 2) technology, 3) customers, 4) suppliers, 5) “complimentors,” 6) regulation.

You will be hard pressed to describe this book as “easy reading.” But, you should find it easy to believe that it is essential reading.

Announcements

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We are proud to announce that in August, Stephen has been selected as a featured speaker for the International Institute of Internal Auditors.

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