Strike the Whale

In most work cultures, an unwritten rule exists that you need to be busy all day long—or at least you need to look busy. Be busy, busy, busy—that’s the expectation.

For instance, when I was working as a newspaper reporter, it just wouldn’t have flown in the newsroom if, during the middle of the day, I had lain down on the floor with my arms behind my head and stared at the ceiling for half an hour.

But I propose that sometimes that’s exactly what a leader needs to do.

A leader needs to purposely step away from the fray of busyness to collect his thoughts, dream up new ideas, or figure out how existing ideas can be most effectively implemented.

The wise words of author and researcher Bob Passantino come to bear:

“Creative thinking is one of the most important aspects of good research.

“Don't think that you’re not working if you're not pounding on a keyboard or conducting an interview on the phone.

“Sitting and thinking through your research project, organizing your thoughts and goals, and creating a workable action plan is essential for good research.”

Oh sure, you’ve got to fit your creative thinking into the established cultural practices of your workplace. That might mean going for a walk around the block, or taking a drive, or taking a power nap in your office, or going on a retreat. However you think best.

But be skeptical of the leader who constantly trots around the office all day long with a piece of paper in his hands. He might look like he’s leading, but it may be he’s doing nothing more than running to the water cooler and back, worried he doesn’t look busy enough.

When it comes to the need for creative thinking in leadership situations, I’m reminded of the Herman Melville’s description of the whale harpooner from the classic novel Moby Dick.

In days past, when men used to row out in small boats to hunt whales, one man—the whale harpooner—was responsible for making the first strike into the whale. The harpooner sat at the front of the boat and needed to have a very strong arm and precise aim. Ultimately, the success of the entire mission depended on how effectively the harpooner did his job.

Ironically, for most of the expedition, while every man on board the small whaling boat was furiously at work, the harpooner wasn’t.

All the other men rowed in frenzy.

But the harpooner sat still and undisturbed.

The harpooner wasn’t trying to look busy. He was mentally preparing himself for the vital activity he needed to do. Melville wrote, “The harpooner sits in tranquility and rises with a sense of calm to do his work.”

Real leaders know their task is not simply to look busy.

It’s to sit silently, think creatively, and then in a burst of intensity ...

strike the whale.

 

Question: How do you best collect your thoughts, dream up new ideas, or figure out how existing ideas can be most effectively implemented?

How to Make a Big Decision

In ages past, life required fewer decisions. You married Sally, the only eligible girl in the county. Your daddy worked as an oat farmer, and you did too. You drove a Model T and it was painted black.

By contrast, options abound these days. Your university offers 300 potential majors and 3,000 potential spouses. You can drive a Subaru, Scion, Saab, or Suzuki. With 200 TV channels, (not to mention TiVo, DVDs, Netflix, and Hulu), you can flip through reruns of Matlock until your remote control explodes.

Here’s a fundamental rule of decision making. When you say yes to one thing, you say no to another. That’s why decision making is difficult. One door opens and another shuts tight.

Having endless choices today means it’s easier than ever to become stuck in the mire of analysis-paralysis. A big decision lies before you, and you hope to leave your options open for as long as possible. So you hem and haw, dilly and dally, and delay the inevitable.

But by remaining undecided, you’ve actually made a choice. You’ve inadvertently chosen a big fat pile of…

nothing!

 … and when you choose nothing, then nothing happens. For instance,

·        Your career stays stagnant.

·        The girl grows impatient and dumps you.

·        Your marriage suffers because you’re too chicken to get that vasectomy.

So how does a leader make decisions?

Below are 5 principles of sound decision making.

1.      Start with Prayer.

You might be a stringent atheist who thinks prayer is a load of dishwater. If so, skip to the next point.

Yet I place prayer in first place for a reason. If you’re a person with any modicum of faith, then you may find that sometimes you’ve positioned prayer dead last, and that needs to change.

Why? The epistle of James lays it out bluntly and boldly. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

            Start by praying, then proceed.

2.      Write out the Pros and Cons

Do your research. Chart the practical ramifications. Make your list and check it twice.

Each decision contains both opportunities and challenges. If you buy a house then you won’t be a renter anymore. If you marry a girl then you won’t be single anymore.

You’re a smart cookie. Ask yourself, when it comes to choosing either X or Y, which direction appears most prudent?

3.      Seek Advice

A wise leader seldom makes decisions in a vacuum. He invites input from a small cadre of trusted advisors. He purposely allows them to ask him hard questions before a decision is made.

            Ask yourself: What do wise people think is the right decision for me to make?

4.      Wait 24 Hours

Most big decisions don’t need to be made instantly.

This principle particularly applies to going to war, getting married, or having your girlfriend’s name tattooed across your chest. A wise leader knows when to walk out of the Lamborghini showroom. He refuses to buy on impulse.

Yet the principle of patience can also be carried too far. It’s best to give yourself a reasonable deadline to mull your decision—a day, a week, or a year. Then pull the trigger.

5.      Do a Gut-Check

Peace is underrated, particularly that intangible soul-deep type of peace that’s hard to describe other than by the phrase, “You know when you know.”

How does something truly sit in your stomach? Imagine yourself making a decision, and then imagine yourself living with it over time.

Ask yourself: Can I truly live with this choice?

Okay, you’ve got the principles. What big decision do you need to make?

Mull your decision. Then make it.

 

Question: What’s an important decision you made, and how did you make it?

The Best Back-of-Napkin Diagram I've Ever Encountered

A few weeks back I told you how my health had taken a downturn my senior year of college from too much stress, and how one thing that helped me heal was the simple practice of going for a walk on a daily basis.

Another thing I did toward the end of that year produced a helpful long term perspective to the stuff of life. I saw a counselor to get some help with stress management.

I didn’t want to at first. Even 20 years ago, it wasn’t as common as it is today to see a counselor. But the wise words of a university professor helped change my mind.

“Listen, Marcus,” he said. “Life can get complicated these days. We go to a mechanic when our car needs to be fixed. We go to an accountant to get help with our taxes. What makes you think you can sort out your emotional life all on your own?”

I saw the counselor four or five times, and I learned pretty quickly that a counselor’s role is not to solve your problems. I think I was hoping he’d do that, but it doesn’t work that way.

Rather, a counselor’s role is to offer objectivity and insight. It’s to help you cut through the forest, see the trees, and work toward solutions yourself.

Early in our sessions, the counselor quickly sketched a helpful diagram on the back of a napkin to illustrate how easy it is to let our objectivity get clouded so we’re not seeing correctly, and, conversely, what a difference an unclouded worldview makes.

He drew a line on a piece of paper, and on the far side he wrote this word: catastrophe.

----------------------------------------------------------------CATASTROPHE

One harmful extreme people lean toward, the counselor explained, is viewing all their problems in an overly important light. Like, Oh no, my friend said so and so, and now it’s the end of the world.

That’s bad news if you want good health. Few things in life are actually a catastrophe. Avoid this extreme.

On the other side of the paper he wrote another word: indifference.

INDIFFERENCE--------------------------------------------------CATASTROPHE

Another harmful extreme people lean toward, he explained, is the tendency to shrug everything off. These people experience real problems, but they pretend the problems are no big deal. Like, I’ve got terminal cancer. Oh well. Easy come, easy go.

That doesn’t work either. When problems happen, they’re real, and if something is bugging you, it should be dealt with. Avoid the extreme of indifference.

In the middle of the sheet he wrote a final word: reality.

INDIFFERENCE--------------------REALITY--------------------CATASTROPHE

Reality is always what to aim for. Problems are seldom catastrophic, but at the same time, you don’t want to be indifferent to them, either.

The balance is to seek reality, see problems in perspective, learn what you can do about life’s hard stuff, and discern what you simply need to let lie.

That’s a diagram that’s helped enormously over the years. When the stuff of life happens, it helps sort out an appropriate response.

When a genuine problem arises, don’t shrug it off and say, “Oh, it’s no big deal.”

Similarly, avoid the other extreme, and don’t cry out, “Oh no! It’s the end of the world!”

Figure out what reality is, and work from there.

Question: What are some other helpful ways you’ve learned how to handle stress?

The Three Wounds of Smokey Gordon

Easter week special

I wish I had met Walter “Smokey” Gordon, one of the original Band of Brothers. He died on April 19, 1997 at age 76. His life story, as remembered by his children, is recorded in my book, A Company of Heroes.

Those that knew him say he was an elaborate prankster, an intelligent conversationalist, and a courageous soldier.

He was wounded at least three times.

Smokey parachuted into Normandy on D-Day where he was first wounded in the leg. He healed, rejoined his unit, and later fought valiantly in the battle of Operation Market Garden.

Walter "Smokey" Gordon with his twin sister, Cleta.

He was wounded for a second time in Bastogne on Christmas Eve, 1944, when a sniper’s bullet got him in the left shoulder. The bullet nicked his spinal column, which left him paralyzed from the neck down.

Smokey slowly recovered stateside, but for the rest of his life he suffered with chronic back and shoulder pain.

His children described how whenever someone greeted their father with a pat on the back, unaware of his disabilities, you could see a wince in his eye or face. Yet Smokey Gordon would never mention it.

A third wound came to plague his life. Although Smokey’s parents were never particularly religious, he had become a faithful Episcopalian, lay reader, and altar boy on his own as a child. But as an adult Smokey’s faith would suffer a terrible blow.

He had a twin sister, Cleta, whom he adored. Tragically, Cleta died in her early thirties of breast cancer, leaving behind a husband and small children. It was this wounding that became the turning point of Smokey’s religious life.

Following his sister’s death, anytime Smokey was asked about his faith, he would reply, “Any God that could take away the most beautiful creation to walk this earth, I want nothing to do with.”

I mention this third wound because it’s one that others can relate to, including me. God is all-powerful. Yet grief comes to all of us. So when prayers aren’t answered the way we hope, it’s common to question God, even to turn away from him.

Did Smokey Gordon ever heal from his third wound?

The family has deeply religious relatives with whom Smokey would engage in conversations and debate. Even late in life he could quote scripture chapter and verse.

His children once wondered how a person who had lost his faith could know scripture so well. They asked him, and his reply was typical of this untypical man, “Don’t you know that the Bible is the greatest book ever written?”

Due to his deep admiration for scripture, I like to think Smokey Gordon eventually found peace with God, although I’m not certain.

Scripture teaches how God is good regardless of life’s circumstances, and that God has reasons for allowing tragedies to happen beyond what we can fully understand. One day God will set all things right, either in this life or the life to come.

The writer of Hebrews offers this invitation:

“The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can’t see.”

This Easter season, if you’re struggling with similar questions of faith, my encouragement is to not let disappointment with God go unanswered.