— 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.
WHAT’S A PARAGON? Turns out it’s a model of excellence. At times I think I’m a paragon rifle. But in reality, although well-built, I am no better than my marksman. Of these, some have talent, like Rudy, and some work at it persistently, also like Rudy. Hmmm. Which is better, talent or persistence?
Now, that’s a good question when it comes to leadership. Try this to answer it: Which will make up for the other? Persistence wins. With persistence, you will find a way; with talent, you have it or you don’t. Yes, persistence trumps talent (given you have a little talent to begin with). Hey, leaders, enter in, try, learn, try again, learn more, make some mistakes, learn from them, keep trying, continually improve. One day you’ll be the paragon in the winners’ circle.