Are you chasing chickens (or should I say turkeys in honor of the month)?
When a novice tries to catch a chicken in a yard full of chickens, all of the chickens start running around in mass chaos when a chicken is selected and the first attempt is made. One quickly finds out that chickens are fast and harder to catch than you might think. Invariably, as you are chasing a chicken, though, another chicken runs across your path, closer than the one you’re chasing—seemingly a much more tempting prize than the elusive chicken you’d been trying to catch. But the act of changing direction to chase the new chicken comes with a price and in the end, you’ll just keep changing direction to try and catch the most tempting (seemingly closest at the moment) chicken, but you’ll never catch one. If you stick to your original chicken, though, you will eventually catch it.
Of course, there are times when a much larger prize chicken will come across your path and it is well worth changing direction for it. But, all things being equal, if you continue to constantly change directions you will never catch your chicken or obtain your goals.
As we begin to say goodbye to 2010, take some time and reflect on the goals that you set for your company, yourself, your department, etc… this past year. Did you catch your chicken, or did you keep changing directions and chase chickens all year long? Did you have an opportunity to change direction and catch a prize chicken?
I would love to hear about your experiences in the coop (so to say) this past year. What were your successes? What did you learn? What do you plan to do better next year?
Above all though, don’t stop running, if you keep at it, you will eventually get that chicken!
