— 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 above. —
“THERE’S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SKIN A CAT.” I heard many a farmer pronounce that saying. Hunters too…even though we never hunted cats. What gives?
Oh, to have a back-up plan, or, even better, more than one. Let’s go for best: developing multiple alternatives before selecting the one to lead with. You see, a decision or a plan gets stronger when we force ourselves to find multiple options. Having only one alternative is limiting and frightful: an obstacle may be encountered. Two present a person with merely a binary choice—a likely trap. Reaching, or, as I said, forcing, oneself to find multiple paths yields tremendous benefits. Here’s one: a creative, unique approach that is elegant and compelling. Another: the realization that if challenged, you can resort to a different course and still reach your goal. Leaders specialize in results. Multiple alternatives get them there.