— 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. —
BOUNDARIES. I came across many when hunting, and they were often marked: No trespassing! Keep out! Private Property, Stay Off! I didn’t like being told what I was allowed to do, but then, worse would be not being told and doing something unallowable on another’s land. So, boundaries bug me, but they make sense.
When leading an organization, it is good to know what not to tackle. Tom Peters wrote in In Search of Excellence to “stick to the knitting.” Stay with what you do best, in other words. Boundaries allow leaders to channel their activities. Boundaries act like banks of a river guiding the energy and forces of an organization. Look for boundaries, clarify them, and get everyone to run within them.