Welcome to Merge's Monthly Mega Minute – a bite-sized, yet substantial and practical, nugget of information that you can use immediately to enhance your professional and personal success.
Getting to your destination is easier if you are facing the right direction
Late last month, while I was at a client event in Edmonton AB, winter arrived in all its fury! Now I shouldn’t be surprised, I do live in Canada after all. But an unexpected snowy mishap gave me a chilly lesson in achieving goals — a freezing reminder of why it's important to be pointed in the right direction if you want to get to your intended destination! Let me explain.
Overnight, in a matter of less than twelve hours, over a foot of snow had fallen in the city. In the morning, I drove from my hotel to the event location and pulled into the parking lot ... which was covered in deep and heavy snow. As I pulled into a spot, my car got stuck. I tried in vain to alternately go both backward and forward, but the wheels spun uselessly and I could not get out. After about 10 minutes of trying all the driving "tricks" most Canadians are familiar with, I finally braved the sub-zero temperature to get out of my car and take a closer look at the problem. I noticed right away that my wheels were not straight; they were still in the same "turned" position as when I pulled into the spot. I got back in the car, straightened my wheels and tried again. And this time, with a little bit of rocking back and forth, I was able to pull out of the snow rut.
Isn't it amazing how something as simple as facing the right direction will get you to your intended destination a lot faster? Not just true for getting out of a snow rut, but also accurate for most things in life as well, I suspect!
So what examples do you have for this truism at work? Please share them online at my blog at: www.turningmanagersintoleaders.com/blog.
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