Imagine we are in a rainforest… our task is to cut a trail through the forest.
The workers are the ones swinging the machetes. Chopping through the forest.
The managers are right behind them: finding the best machete, the best way to swing it, rotating the workers so everyone gets a rest, measuring progress… etc.
The Captain is the one who climbs up a tree… looks around… and shouts ‘Wait, Wait… We’re in the wrong forest!!!’
(to which the managers usually respond ‘shut up, we’re making great progress’)
You can hire people as workers and managers… but the role of captain is your unique ability.. No one can replace you as captain of your farm (or co-captain depending on how your business is structured).
And yet so many of us spend all our time in the roles of manager and worker.
It is so important to dedicate some time every week to the role of captain.
To take a few minute of calm to look out over the horizon and see what’s coming next.
Is the farm headed in the direction you envisioned? How will the farm adapt to evolving conditions around it? What is your vision, your goals for the farm?
What do you enjoy about the farm, what are you grateful for, what makes you happy?
What doesn’t work for you, what is causing you the most stress, how will this be rectified?
It doesn’t have to be long. Simply the act of taking this time each week creates the mental space for vision to emerge throughout the rest of the week as well.
Go make a ruckus!
PS: The rainforest metaphor is taken from ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People‘ by Stephen Covey….. a book which has been very influential for me. I highly recommend it!