In these last few months, increasingly my thoughts have been moving to how one can be more strategic in the things that we do, more intentional, more focused. The challenge has been to move from this 'One-size-fits-all' mentality/attitude/driver, to something that is more specific, more targeted rather than being more general. As I was examining this whole issue, I was thinking: How does that happen? How do we, as individuals, begin to think more strategically about the things that we are doing so that it is not a hit-and-miss, but a very targeted approach to what we are doing so that there is no waste of time or energy or resources.
I came across this very humorous article. I haven't been able to get my hand on it again but I will give it to you just as I remember it. It makes a point that I want us to move from. It is a fictitious story about an Indian who saw an ad in the newspaper, looking for a CEO for a huge company. It didn't give any background; just mentioned the vacancy. So he decided that he had nothing to lose and would apply. He got a letter asking him to come for an interview. At the interview, there were thousands of people waiting. The organizers were wondering how to prune this down. So they said, "Everybody without an MBA can leave." So 50% of the people left. This person decided to stay on to see how it all panned out.
When 50% of the people had left, they still had too many people. So the organizers said, "Everybody with less than 15 years experience can leave." So another 50% of that lot left and this man stayed put. The remaining crowd was still huge so they said, "Everybody who doesn't have international experience leave." A huge number of people left which left only a few people. Our friend decided that he had been through 3 prunings and would just hang on. Finally they looked at this small group of people and said, "Those of you who can't speak Japanese, please leave." So everybody but our friend and another man were left.
The interviewer turned to the two guys and said, "Looks like only the two of you can speak Japanese, so speak to each other." So, our friend turned to the other man and said something to him in an Indian language. To his surprise, the other person also replied in the same language. Both happened to be Indians from the same state, speaking the same language and who had tried the same way of staying on for the interview.
As I looked at the way the pruning process took place, I thought that it was so similar to the way we do things. We begin to prune from our end – This is whom we are searching for and then we whittle it down till we find the right people who we think are there for the job. And yet, I wondered, "What if we let the pruning happen at the other end – let people decide that this is the kind of job that they want to have, the kind of company that they want to work for. That might make for a better fit for the company.
I came across this beautiful account of the endeavor on December 5, 1914 where a man called Shackleton decided to cross the continent via the southernmost tip of the earth. It was a voyage that required him to go via the bottom of South America, travel across 1700 miles across the Pole to the Ross Sea below New Zealand. The estimated crossing would cost $250,000. It was going to be the biggest polar journey ever attempted. Shackleton told a reporter for the New York Times on December 29, 1913, "The unknown fields in the world which are still unconquered are narrowing down, but there still remains this great work."
On December 5, 1914, Shackleton and a crew of twenty-seven men set out for the Weddell Sea on the Endurance, a 350-ton ship that had been constructed with funds from private donors, the British government and the Royal Geographical Society. At that time, World War 1 was raging in Europe, so money was scarce. Yet they set out for this endeavor. But the crew of the Endurance would never reach the continent of Antarctica. Just a few days out of South Georgia Island in the southern Atlantic, the ship encountered mile after mile of pack ice, and was soon trapped as winter moved in early and with fury. Ice closed in around them, they couldn't move and finally they had to abandon the ship. They got into lifeboats and finally in 1915, just under a year later, they watched their ship sink in the frigid waters of the Weddell Sea. The crew was in lifeboats. Then Shackleton left behind all but five of his men and embarked on a journey of 800 miles of rough seas to find help. Which, eventually, they did.
What makes the story so remarkable is that throughout the whole ordeal, no one died. They were out there for ten months; there were no stories of people eating others, no mutiny. The key was that Shackleton hired good fits he found the right men for the job. How did he do that? He didn't put an ad in the paper saying, "We need people for an expedition, minimum 5 years experience, must know how to hoist mainsail, etc." What he put as an ad was this, "Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success." The only people who applied for the job were those we read the ad and thought it sounded great. They loved the insurmountable odds. The only people who applied for the job were survivors. Shackleton hired people who believed what he believed. And they were going to do it.
I thought: What a difference that made! Suddenly he had people who were exactly fit for the kind of job that had to get done. People who were completely motivated for the job. All that they needed was to be inspired, to be able to complete the job. That's how we ought to be able to make a shift in the way we do things.
We have a school for tribal children that I am associated with in Orissa. It's way up the mountain in a very remote place. Over the last 2-3 years, one of our greatest difficulties has been to find teachers. We've been putting ads in different places – this is what we want, teachers with this much experience. But today, as I as thinking about this situation, I thought that maybe what we need to do is to advertise like Shackleton did. "Wanted people who are willing to travel into a remote place, not too great a salary, housing may not be great, wireless connections may not be great. But a noble task to be completed in the education of tribal children." Something like that! Maybe we should do an ad like that and then see if we can get teachers. I'm putting my money where my mouth is today. I'm going to do that ad and maybe come back to you down the road and tell you whether it worked. But in principle, it's a good place to be, where we try and be more strategic in the things that we are doing. I truly believe that when we can be more intentional, more focused, more purposeful about the things that we do, the chances of being successful in those endeavors are very high. We do the initial spadework and we get people on board who are completely motivated in what we are trying to do. They understand why we are doing something. Then, all that is necessary is to inspire them to greatness.
That's my thought for you today, whether we can move from the one-size-fits-all to finding the right fit, from the general to the specific, be more strategic in the things that we are doing. Then I know the benefits will be great and there will be tremendous productivity. I pray that as you go through this day that you will think about that. Look at all that you are doing today and ask yourself, "Am I being strategic in the things that I am doing?" If you are not, then change the equation and see what needs to change so that you can. Maybe someday down the road, we will compare notes and see whether it worked in our favor or not.
Let me pray with you. Almighty God, bless each of these persons on this call. Lord, give us wisdom to know how to do the things we do, so that they are done effectively, so that there is high productivity in the things that we do, so that no time, no money, no resources are wasted. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
· Story of Endurance from "Start With Why" by Simon Sinek; pages 90-92
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