— To follow is a bullet of wisdom on leadership. It comes from Tom’s rifle, named Shot, who has seen it all. You’ll get the drift by clicking Blog in the menu at www.tomnewhouse.com. —
BIG WORD: meritocracy. In government it’s power by the people with the best abilities. I’m just a little ole rifle, but that shakes me a bit, even though I don’t know why. I do like “idea” meritocracy: The best idea wins. I have been on hunts where we had “no idea.” I have been on others, where we had a good plan and good preparation. We were winners.
As a leader do you want the best idea to win? Yes, of course, you say. How do you promote that? How do you lead to obtain that? Foremost, you must guide a culture where you honor good ideas, no matter their source. Now, get this: Ideas come from people, and not just you. Only a culture that promotes, accepts, and acts on good ideas from everyone will yield benefits. You lead that. You orchestrate others so they attend to high standards and generate ideas to get better and better. Orchestrate, not force.