We had a meeting this weekend to discuss a project we’re working on with a number of other corporate organisations in Hong Kong. One team member was just a few minutes late, and in her usual polite way, she explained she had got the wrong address. It was just one number wrong in the address, and she had ended up about 25 minutes away. She explained how this mistake was quite easily made. She went on to conclude that, “It’s amazing how just one number can make so much difference.” After some reflection, I recalled the time I was once in New York, London and Tokyo within a week, working in a number of different buildings, with different dialing codes, and protocols for internal vs external numbers also. It was quite simple; if you missed a digit, you wouldn’t get through. Often times, we would be there for minutes trying to get the right numbers. One digit made all the difference. If you imagine for a second that you did not know your best friends mobile phone number, and you had to guess it, what are the chances of getting it right? It is practically impossible. The ‘syntax’ or format of a mobile phone number follows a certain order, and your guess must be in that order to stand a chance of being correct. One digit, makes all the difference. If we do not know the rules, the addresses, of the numbers, our chances of success fall, dramatically.
If one decides to drive around any developed City without knowing or paying heed to the road laws and protocols, they are very likely to find themselves with at best a lot of post in a few weeks, or at worst to cause some very serious to others and themselves. Now, there is a chance that a person can stumble into following rules and understanding them by following what others are doing, but it is a low likelihood they will pick up straight away. This is why education is important. This is why they have driving tests both theoretical and practical in place to train one to deal with the roads. Systematic understanding that promotes a very conscious understanding of how things work and what is to be done in certain situations is a common way of preparing one to be successful. Whilst there is much education for many topics, where does one learn the universal rules of leadership? In the contemporary world, it is often only through experience and stumbling across them. This is exactly why you see countless books on leadership by great leaders; which often contains what they stumbled across in their paths to success. This is no doubt valuable, however there are universal laws of leadership, which have been passed down and tried and tested across many generations; and have passed the test of time. They specify what is needed for success, and also on the contrary, what kinds of attitude and actions attract failure. Whilst we won’t be covering them here, the first stage is to acknowledge that there are universal rules of successful leadership; it is just like finding a building, or dialing the right number; we will have far greater chance of success if we try to understand these rules from the great, and apply them to our situations.
There are usually two types of person; one who is more focused on the detail, and one who is more concerned with the essence. A person of essence has the end in mind, whereas as person of detail has the means in mind. Keeping the end in mind makes one almost agnostic to how one gets there, whereas keeping the detail at the forefront can sometimes make one careless to the end goal; to the extent one who is interested in detail may even sacrifice the end goal for upholding the detail. David Beckham used to practice free kicks relentlessly in his youth. He explained how he would be practicing the same kick for hours on end every day. How much patience, perseverance and determination this would have taken. Ultimately, he became one of the best free-kick takers in the game. David Beckham also happened to develop a very robust physique. In order to be a 1st class footballer, he had to stick to a strict diet, train in many ways, and regulate his lifestyle so that he could be the 1st class footballer he wanted to be. The details of diet, training, lifestyle, supported the essence of being a 1st class footballer. He certainly didn’t play football so that he would be able to eat less sweet foods, practice taking free-kicks for hours etc. The detail supported the essence, and this is what built excellence. We should be very conscious what is at the essence of what we’re trying to do how the detail is a means to it. This will give us great encouragement even in the face of difficulty. We must learn to separate the two when necessary; and to connect the two when necessary. For example, when experiencing difficult in the detail, we can use the end goal to place the detail into context and therefore not be overwhelmed and discouraged by details. On the contrary, we must remind ourselves that the detail is only a means to the end.
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