— 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.—
CHECKERS = TARGET SHOOTING. Both target shooting and hunting are contests. But the former is more predictable. Hunting requires strategy, knowledge of every pieces’ unique capability, adaptability, complicated moves, and coordinated efforts across the field. I like checkers. But chess is more challenging and more rewarding when I win.
Leaders, are you playing checkers or chess? Do you have a strategy, do you adjust to best use each follower’s unique capabilities? Do you adapt your approach as the situation changes? Do plan for and execute complicated moves? Do you consider the broad scope of your organization/industry and coordinate actions to garner victories? If you answered “yes” to these questions, bets are you have overcome challenges and been rewarded. You’re a chess player.