Do You Want to Change the World?

There is no doubt that the world is a mess and getting worse. Conflict is pervasive, poverty is a way of life for millions, and a sense of personal helplessness to make things better characterizes the attitudes of many of us.

However, the problem is akin to the prospect of trying to eat an elephant. If you believe that you must eat the beast in one meal, the task is impossible. But if you set for yourself the task of eating a bit of the elephant every day, the scope of the program becomes possible. 

This is the way we must approach all large problems. Tackle small facets of the issue and resolve them, and eventually you will have solved the entire problem. 

Furthermore, you can't solve problems over which you have no control, so pick those immediately affecting you and work on them. And because one person usually can't solve a large problem, exercise leadership to enlist the help of others who are similarly affected by the issue.

If you persist in this approach, one day you will look back and realize that you have succeeded. As the proverb says, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

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Leaders Add Value

If you are a leader, your function is to enable the people you lead to achieve goals that are important to them. That means personal goals as well as organization objectives. Too many so-called leaders are disablers, rather than enablers. They rule rather than lead. You should ask yourself, "In what ways do I help my people achieve their goals? How do I add value for them?"

Vance Packard defined leadership as "the art of getting others to want to do something you feel should be done." The operative word in this is WANT. It can be really difficult to get people to want to do something that seems unimportant or valueless to them. On the other hand, you don't need to exert much influence to get people to do something they see as important and useful.

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