Monday Moanin Thoughts # 195 Minnows Or Whales?

Happy Monday Moanin day after Super Bowl 2016 to all of you. I hope your team was victorious.  During the past several weeks, I have had numerous discussions with educational leaders about what is the most important issue they are dealing with. During these discussions,  I sometimes will refer to  John Kotter’s work about urgency.  Kotter writes about complacency, false sense of urgency, and true sense of urgency. The goal and challenge for all of us is to work at operating only on what is truly urgent.  Another version of this is what a staff member shared with me years ago. While working at Ford Motor Company his supervisor would talk about minnows and whales. His boss would remind his staff  that if you spend time dipping for minnows you may miss the whale swimming by. This week it is crucial to find and focus on the whales. Don’t get sidetracked and distracted by the little things that may be minnows.

This week take action and lead with urgency. Ask yourself, is this a whale or a minnow?