An old proverb says that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago and the next best time to plant a tree is today. This could be interpreted in a negative light – a light chiding for the mistake we made 20 years ago. But, I like to look at it differently. To me it says, “you can learn from past mistakes, and that learning manifests when you take action today.” (I know, it’s less elegant). There is absolutely nothing you can do about a 20 year old mistake. And, there is absolutely nothing you can do about a one minute old mistake. The past, no matter how long ago, is past. The core question is: What can we do right now to cement the lessons we have learned up until now? Followed by another question: Are we actually doing it?
With your teams, don’t get out of the way, do this instead
"Get out of the way!" I often hear some version of this sentiment when talking about building a culture to incentivize high performance teams. "You have to find the right people, equip them, and then get out of the way." People who talk about getting out of the way...