5 String Leadership

At times, it is necessary to start with the end of the story and fill in the details afterward.   So, here is the point of today’s article: stop overreacting!   We all do it, but some of us are less tempered in our reactions than others.   Leaders can find themselves in difficult situations when they overreact.   Think of what the word means- overreaction is a response that is over, or more, than what is necessary.   An overreacting leader may be tempted to throw more money at a problem than needed, or fire employees over a relatively small mistake.   While this is easier said than done, the way to guard against overeating is to pause before making decisions.   Make sure you’ve gathered all the necessary information and consulted the appropriate people before making a potentially costly decision. I almost overreacted in an expensive way a few days ago.   I live on a steep hill, so I depend on a self-propelled, all-wheel drive, walk-behind mower ...

The business and management sections of bookstores are full of leadership manuals.   A simple online search for “leadership books” returns an endless list of literature from supposed leadership gurus.   The titles overlap so much that it’s impossible to know where to start.   There’s How to Lead When You’re Not in Charge [1] and Getting it Done: How to Lead When You’re Not in Charge [2] .   There’s Leading from Within [3] and Leading from Your Gut [4] .   There’s Lead with Purpose [5] and Leading with Purpose [6] .   Let’s not forget Leading from Behind: Turn Anxiety into Courage [7] and Leading from Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisors Who Decide for Him [8] . Despite the mind-numbing collection of indistinguishable books, some have risen to become all-time best sellers like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People [9] , The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership [10] , and Think and Grow Rich [11] .   These books are best sellers for...

Each year in the early spring, I get out my rotary tiller and push it to the end of our yard where I have a small garden plot.  During the late fall and winter, the dead stalks and vines from the previous year's crops create a dense layer of vegetation that must be tilled under to make way for the new plants.  Unfortunately, my 2019 garden was not very successful.  I was busy at work and failed to keep the weeds out of my plants and eventually gave up on harvesting any crops.  My potatoes had done well up until July,  at which point the weeds between the rows finally choked the thick green vines and turned them into a dull brownish-yellow.   Potatoes take a long time to grow.  As the vines grow taller, you must heap dirt around the base of the plants to prolong the growth of the tubers underneath the surface.  Eventually, flowers appear and the vine begins to die, indicating that the potatoes have finished growing.  Since my plants had b...