Watching Butterflies

The other day I went for a hike on a beautiful autumn day.  I went in part to enjoy the day and in part to clear my head of some things that have been bothering me lately.

I paused during my hike at the top of a kame, which is a type of hill left by the glaciers in my part of the world.  I was catching my breath and enjoying the vista.  I was also watching a little yellow butterfly flit between early autumn flowers.  It was peaceful and grandiose and very nice.

Clouded Yellow butterfly (Calias crocea) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As I was enjoying the butterfly and the scenery, another hiker came along.  She was a serious hiker, which I could tell because she carried two hiking poles and was moving at a steady clip.  She appeared very goal driven.  She wanted to get her miles in!

We nodded hello and she disappeared over the hill without really looking up at the scenery.

It got me to thinking about how often we are so driven by accomplishing our goals that we don't take the time to pause to enjoy the view along the way.  It is very important to be goal oriented.  One of the hallmarks of successful leaders is that they set actionable goals and work toward them with their teams.

But it is equally important that the goal is not ALL that drives us.  It is important to occasionally lift your head from the task at hand and resurvey the terrain.  There are 4 reasons that this is important.

1. Work-Life Balance:  I am not going to expound too much on this, but it is important to have balance in your life.  Achieving most goals is a long hike.  Pausing allows you time to take a breath, connect with the world around, and recharge your energy, which is an important part of gaining that balance.
2. The Terrain Changes.  We often set goals with a bit of crystal ball gazing.  Goals are set based on a number of assumptions.  If we don't occasionally make mid-course corrections on our goals we run the risk of successfully completing the goal and completely missing the mark.  
3. Small Observations Can Lead to Big Discoveries.  The pages of Inc. and Fast Company are filled with stories of business leaders and entrepreneurs who noticed something happening (or not happening) in the marketplace that no one else noticed.  Leaders who pay attention to the off-hand comment by a customer or the side observation of a beta tester can find a goldmine in those little moments.  Those observations became product features, products, or businesses that generated a lot of revenue, and a whole other set of goals!
4. Occasionally You Get a Sense of the Larger, More Important Goals in Life.  Sometimes, it is remarkable what a little yellow butterfly can do!

Know Your Stuff

I once had a salesperson make an appointment with my boss and myself to tell us about his company and the product that he felt we could use.

He was on time, well dressed and did the required small talk very well.  But when it came time to give the presentation, he couldn't get the PowerPoint presentation on his laptop to work.  After watching him struggle with trying to get things to work for 10 minutes or so, it was clear that he couldn't give the presentation without the PowerPoint crutch.  He asked if he could reschedule the meeting.  We declined.

If you are going on a sales call or making a presentation, know your stuff.  Things happen with technology.  If you aren't prepared to move forward without laptop assistance, you aren't prepared. Be prepared!