Weekly Quote: Simple & Complicated

"Good ideas are not adopted automatically.
They must be driven into practice with courageous patience."
-- Hyman Rickover, Admiral

The following is from Seth Godin:

“There are two ways to begin an answer to most questions we face in organizations:

"It's simple" and

"It's complicated."

Both are usually true. At 10,000 feet, most challenges are simple. But actually making something work is quite complicated.

Nuance is the sign of an intelligent observer. Nuance shows restraint and maturity and an understanding of the underlying mechanics of whatever problem we're wrestling with. After
all, if the solution was simple, we would have solved it already.

On the other hand, resorting to nuance early and often can also be a sign of fear, of an unwillingness to go out on a limb and make a difference. Hence the reactions of boards hiring
consultants and CEOs, or of passionate primary voters. "Don't tell me it's complicated. Just show me the guts to make something happen."

My vote: your goals and your strategy must be simple. You must have passion and certainty in order to make a difference as a leader. Your tactics, on the other hand, should be layered,
multi-dimensional and reflect the patience of someone who cares about reaching a goal.

When Howard Schultz talks about coffee or Jill Greenberg talks about lighting or Cory Booker talks about education, they can impatiently demand clear and simple results. At the same
time, successful leaders see the nuance they'll need in executing to get there.

The paradox is that the simplicity we often seek in search of solutions rarely leads to the patient
leadership we need to get them.”

- Seth

As leaders we have to develop new habits and have a process to ensure follow up and execution of the the Goals and Strategies we define for the organization. If you tend to not be able to follow through and execute solutions in your business learn more about a process that does work by
signing up to recieve Free - The Leadership Matrix ebook.


All the best,
Rick Wallace