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I encourage people to lead. It’s one of the things I do. I tell people all the time time that I believe they can initiate a change, they can sustain a way of doing things they feel is threatened and they can grow other leaders.

Recently, I’ve been wondering why I do this, for that matter why do any of us decide to do anything.

My sense is most often it’s got to do with the consequences of doing or not doing. We weigh the upsides and the downsides and fall down on one side or the other and either do or don’t do something.

Weighing the options brings our values into play. The relationship between people’s values and what they value is another source of interest for me as some people’s upsides are other people’s downsides.

I like to describe culture as when you remember the answer, but have forgotten the question. By that I mean I/we make a lot of decisions on autopilot. That’s just the way we do things. A lot of decisions aren’t really thought about. They’re almost instinctively made according to our unconscious values that lead us to value one option over another.

What about those decisions we make that aren’t obviously in our own best interest? For me this is where this field of thought becomes even more intriguing.

I, like others, periodically make decisions where the consequences are not necessarily to my obvious benefit. The prime example is, as a husband and father, I make sacrifices, frequently with out seeming to think about it. I’m not making a big deal about this; it’s just what you do.

This is where the role of identity comes into play in the decision-making process.

Who am I? What kind of person am I? What does a person like me do in a situation like this?

Well, I see myself as someone who grows leaders. My self appointed mission is to enjoy life and enthuse others to find joy in their life. Some days I’m more successful than others.

In that role I share my belief in others’ ability to lead. As such,let me encourage you to think about your values, about your identity i.e what kind of person you are.

Then choose to be the kind of person who can and start making decisions in light of that conscious self image.

I believe you’ll be happier with your decisions when you make them consciously.

I believe you’ll be happier deciding to behave into your image of your conscious self.

I know I am when I do.

When faced with similar situations where I have delegated responsibility and the person has chosen inaction for some reason, I find myself asking, “Was I not clear?” “Have I misjudged the person’s ability?” “Is this an attitude issue?”

I worked with my Dad off and on for 18 years. During that time we both got better at communicating our wishes and asking questions to clarify our expectations of each other.

Most importantly though he instilled in me a bias for action. The voice in my head saying, “Do something” serves me well. It supports Newton’s 1st Law of Motion – A body in motion will stay in motion…

I can just hear folks thinking, “What if you’re going in the wrong direction?” “What if you’re doing the wrong thing?” “What if…?”

Well, when you discover what you’re doing is not working, fix it, do something else. But the odds are while your solution may not be perfect, you’ll still be better off trying something than sitting around waiting for the “right” answer.

Remember, the second part of Newton’s 1st Law of Motion is – a body at rest tends to stay at rest… and as a rule of thumb, bodies at rest don’t tend to get much done.

So, Do something, do Something.

Together, if we all do something, we’re going to work ourselves out of this mess.

My Daddy believed I could and I believe you can.

I believe we can.

When I worked for my Daddy he used to tell me that all the time. He had a bias for action.

Whenever he left me in charge he believed I was capable of handing the situation for which he’d given me responsibility. As such, when I chose not to exercise my own judgement for fear I’d do the wrong thing he’d be disappointed in me and usually expressed that frustration saying, “Do Something! I can fix wrong, I can’t fix nothing.”

When faced with similar situations where I have delegated responsibility and the person has chosen inaction for some reason, I find myself asking, “Was I not clear?” “Have I misjudged the person’s ability?” “Is this an attitude issue?”

I worked with my Dad off and on for 18 years. During that time we both got better at communicating our wishes and asking questions to clarify our expectations of each other.

Most importantly though he instilled in me a bias for action. The voice in my head saying, “Do something” serves me well. It supports Newton’s 1st Law of Motion – A body in motion will stay in motion…

I can just hear folks thinking, “What if you’re going in the wrong direction?” “What if you’re doing the wrong thing?” “What if…?”

Well, when you discover what you’re doing is not working, fix it, do something elase. But the odds are while your solution may not be perfect, you’ll still be better off trying something than sitting around waiting for the “right” answer.

Remember, the second part of Newton’s 1st Law of Motion is – a body at rest tends to stay at rest… and as a rule of thumb, bodies at rest don’t tend to get much done.

So, Do something, do Something.

Together, if we all do something, we’re going to work ourselves out of this mess.

My Daddy believed I could and I believe you can.

I believe we can.

I make my living helping business leaders make better decisions. At least that’s what my clients tell me is the primary benefit they receive from the relationship.

There are several tools available but one of the first I employ is the Mission Statement. Before you stop reading let me share my take on the idea of missions and mission statements.

I believe mission statements are useless if you don’t have a mission. On the other hand if you are on a mission then a statement clearly articulating what you desire is very useful.

The operative point here is do you have a mission?

In the context of this discussion an individual’s or organization’s mission is their vocation or calling. That irresistible impulse to pursue a goal or follow a path.

Thinking in terms of mission focuses the mind and elevates behavior. Pursuing a mission heightens the value of what’s to be done.

I’ve a personal mission to enjoy my life and enthuse others to find joy in their life. At work my colleagues and I share the mission of helping people develop the skill set and mind set necessary to catch their limit.

I encourage you to invest a little time discerning whether or not you have mission.

Explore whether or not your company has a mission. Are your mission and your company’s mission compatible? If so or not, how does that impact your productivity and job satisfaction?

My last thought on this topic, today, is if you don’t have a mission, vocation, calling then don’t waste your time writing a mission statement. But, if you do have an irresistible impulse that drives you please share it with me and let me know how your awareness of your mission impacts your life.

When I was in school a teacher would ask a question and look for one answer; the right answer. After years of these inquisitions my fellow students and I learned to keep quiet unless we thought we knew THE answer. Wild guesses were not appreciated. You didn’t get an E for effort. This modus operandi has carried over into the work life of many folks. Many people have found success in this behavior. Don’t open your mouth until you’re sure you know the RIGHT answer. Don’t do anything until you’re sure it’s THE right course of action.

In stable times this was a sound strategy. For hundreds of years we conducted business as usual. The way our fathers before us and their fathers before them conducted business. Unfortunately

in today’s world of uncertainty, this conservative approach has become the riskiest.

The primary reason this reliance upon THE right answer is problematic is it assumes there is only one answer to a question. In this scenario when you find an answer that works, you stop looking for other possible answers. And while the answer found may be a good answer, there may be better answers.

The second reason this tactic is insufficient for the demands of today is if you believe there is only one right answer then you hesitate to take action if you don’t think you know that one right answer.

This brings to mind one of my dad’s favorite sayings that I quote regularly, “Do something! I can fix wrong. I can’t fix nothing.”

With these words in mind, I whole heartedly encourage you to do something. Take small risks. Initiate pilot projects. Test your ideas. Make mistakes quickly and then learn from your mistakes and try again.

Leaders initiate change, sustain change and grow young leaders. Because our actions speak louder than our words, the most effective way to grow young leaders is to demonstrate the behavior we want to see.

So, do something; even if the results aren’t perfect, the odds are they’ll do until we can do better.