— 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. —
AAH, TO END WELL. That usually means to start well. You could say all’s well that starts well. We rifles know: Aim badly and a bad shot results; plan poorly and problems prevail. That’s being negative. Try positive: Aim well for a good shot. Plan well, and…poof—proof positive.
Here’s a shocker: If you are off to a bad start, start over. You won’t lead well if you are furtively trying to make something good come out of a bad thing. Leaders—not the good ones—try to always look good and not admit mistakes. But wait. Everyone makes mistakes. Hopefully, as a leader you make fewer mistakes than others, but you will make some. Name the demon—the error. Start again. Tell people you thought you had a good plan, but it has proven to be wayward. (They likely figured that out already.) Own it, and strike out anew. Lead.