Build, don’t babble

A recent Farnam Street Brain Food newsletter shared this story:

Two friends discuss their dreams. One describes starting a business, solving a problem mid-conversation, and immediately making a call. The other talks about a novel they’ve been “writing” for years but never seem to make progress on.  Build, don’t babble.

It hit home because, at the time, I was struggling with whether to separate myself from an organization for which I was volunteering.  Lots of talk by many, little action by few. 

That story was followed shortly by advice from Dan Rockwell:

Unbending resolve to act distinguishes leaders from followers. Go with the flow only when the current carries you where you want to go.  Flexibility promotes progress, but constant change corrupts core values.

The hints kept coming.  “Risk something or forever sit with your dreams,” advised Herb Brooks.  And, the following week’s Brain Food suggested, “90 percent of success is not getting distracted.”

It was frustrating watching a group of people “leading” what, externally, looks like a successful organization.  How long can it look and be that way without a unified focus toward a collective goal or any kind of accountability?  Observing this certainly made me also reflect on how I thought I led in various roles and what others might have thought about how I was doing it.  I would like to think I took advice when it was offered.

I’ve stepped away from directly promoting the organization because I realized the current wasn’t carrying me where I wanted to go with them.  I will be watching, with the continued hope that the organization will heal itself.  (Yes, to one person reading this, I do know that hope is not a strategy!)