“Man who chases two rabbits catches neither.”~Chinese proverb
Sometimes I have a hard time deciding between two choices. I have the option of pursuing one goal or another, and I want to go after both. Maybe it’s my need to overachieve or overprove; maybe it’s my hunger to add value any and every way I can to my clients and I therefore think I need to do everything possible; maybe it’s my nearly constant urge to grow and develop and be my best self.
I don’t know what drives my indecision, and I realize it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that by chasing after both goals – both rabbits – I run the risk of catching neither.
Imagine those rabbits running in different directions. That is a great illustration of how, when I’m pulled in multiple directions, I accomplish very little. If I’m racing after one rabbit behind a tree while the other heads down the hill, if my initial response is to go that way as well, I get nowhere. And nothing in my hands.
The same is often true of my goals. If I set myself up to be pulled in opposite directions, I won’t advance far towards achieving what I’m after.
I see my clients struggle with this same pull – they want to do it all and end up doing very little. I also see their organizations set employees up to fail. They challenge the sales team to cut their costs significantly while they woo new clients and close new deals. Or they pit operations against sales with opposing goals. Or sales against IT. Or IT against the finance department.
And they catch no rabbits.
I think, instead, we need to choose what we pursue. We need to Thoughtfully consider our options, the end results we really need, the strengths within us (or our team) – and then pick one rabbit and give it all we’ve got.
Where are you chasing too many rabbits? What can you do to stop?
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For support in chasing only one rabbit at a time, contact Lisa at lkohn@chatsworthconsulting.com.
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