Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Dare to become who you are…

In Lewis Carroll’s book, Alice in Wonderland, the Cheshire Cat tells Alice “if you don’t know your destination, then it doesn’t matter which road you take”.

Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
The Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to
Alice: I don't much care where.
The Cat: Then it doesn't much matter which way you go.
Alice: …so long as I get somewhere.
The Cat: Oh, you're sure to do that, if only you walk long enough.

Are you an Alice, frantically racing from one thing to another or madly climbing the corporate ladder? Have you ever stopped long enough to ask yourself on which wall that ladder is leaning and if that is truly the wall you are meant to climb?

What about your organization? Is it stuck in the “we’ve always done it this way” rut? Extinguishing fires faster and faster and with bigger hoses without taking the time to figure out how those fires start in the first place?

To deliver bigger and better things faster, you sometimes have to slow down. Stop the wheels from turning for a moment or two and reflect on where you have been and where you want to go.