Tag Archives: quotes

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

I’ll tell you where to go

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I came across a quote the other day that really resonated with me.

“If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you’ll be amazed at the results”. – George S. Patton

Personally I really like the part about telling people where to go.  I do that as often as possible.  In reality though, this direction is the key to strong and effective leadership .

The Leader Within

Typically, powerful groups, whether bound by culture, geography, beliefs or common goals operate most effectively when everyone exhibits leadership capabilities.

This is a rare circumstance with the strong leader at the front and the flock following behind.  Unfortunately this autocratic style can be effective to some degree and is easier on the sheep.

Intuitively though, if everyone on your team knows where they going (the goal) exhibit strong communication skills (both outgoing and incoming), and continuously leverages self awareness and personal accountability, strong results will be the outcome.

Single Leader Not Required

Some find it hard to envision a group environment that is not structured like a triangle or pyramid with a single point at the top.  To operate otherwise must lead to chaos.

On the contrary, in fact, a group of individuals each utilizing their inner leadership skills is much more powerful than a single leadership point operating on the “monkey see, monkey do” concept.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Might makes Right

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My quote of the day calendar yesterday, had an excerpt of this  quote :

“Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it”  – Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States.

This quote is taken from Lincoln’s Cooper Union address of 1860, three months before he was nominated as the Republican candidate for the Presidency.

Anti-Slavery

The speech was an emotionally powerful statement against the expansion of slavery, supported by well reasoned argument and logic.

My quote calendar simply stated “Right makes Might” attributed to Abraham Lincoln.  Taken out of context, that is removed from the surrounding sentence and associated goal of the full speech , I struggled to associate this phrase with a great leader like Lincoln.

Fortunately, research into the context gave me a different perspective and all made sense.  I was reminded how important both context and perspective are to assisting with interpreting spoken and written communications.

Historically I would view Lincoln as a collaberative leader who sought consensus.  Reversing the standard “Might makes Right”  which is an arrogant and self righteous proclamation,  is nothing short of brilliant.

Arrogant and Self Righteous -Not

In the context of a reasoned treatise on the evils of slavery, this statement fits for me.  While a bully might believe “Might makes Right” the reverse “Right makes Might”  is clearly more about standing behind your ideals than forcing your will on others.

This is all about using the power of “right” to make positive change.

 

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Quoting Shakespeare

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I read a quote by Shakespeare the other day and I was surprised by how great it was. My surprise lay not with the meaning but rather just the poetic beauty of the phrasing.

“Things won are done, joy’s soul lies in the doing”  William Shakespeare, English Playwright, Troilus and Cressida

This sentiment is not new and off the top of my head I can rephrase with a number of common sayings:

  • It’s not the destination that matters, it’s the pleasure of the trip
  • Getting there is half the fun
  • It’s not about winning, it’s how you play the game
  • It’s not what you do that matters, it’s how you do it

And the point!

While it seems simple, the way Shakespeare has crafted this message, clear but poetic and lyrical is so much better than the run of the mill sayings.

The meaning is basically the same, albeit with some nuances, but the impact is so much greater.  On reading this quote I was struck by a realization that truly sometimes how you deliver the message can really make a difference in understanding and impact.  The point jumps out.

The Blog or the writing of it?

I have been scribing these random musings for over year now.  Strangely, or perhaps not, my motivation is not the end product (although I am sure they are fabulous).  Rather my joy comes in the writing itself.  What a rush.

And no less a scholar then Shakespeare himself imortalized this truism in a simple statement “Things won are done, joy’s soul lies in the doing.”