If you search Google Maps for the Gulf of Mexico, you will generatedifferent results depending on which country your search originates in. A United States search delivers the Gulf of America, and a search in Mexico reveals the Gulf of Mexico. Regardless of the politics behind this naming dispute, it is a quick illustration that we might see the same thing but have different ways of articulating the answer.
Do you take the payout or defer it for another day? Do you elect the over-scheduled board member or wait until they can focus on your cause? Do you ask the donor for a campaign gift even when they suggest they can do something more significant in a few years? Do you launch the new program with numerous gaps or continue assembling a more complete team before activating? Do you grab headlines with a sensational claim or send a press release after you have completed a remarkable level of service?
Each scenario above is too vague to answer definitively but represents generative questions. They are worth pondering; each serves as a proxy for the real-time decisions we need to make. Trying out a new tactic during a training session offers immediate feedback and is more effective than waiting for a competition. If we delay until the race to deploy a new strategy, our results are often hampered by our lack of preparation. Train today so our capabilities are evident, and we are prepared when the spotlight focuses on our enterprise.
The clock started when the event commenced. However, there might be two results at the finish line. If you moved without delay, elapse and moving time are the same. If you take breaks or stop, elapse and moving time are no longer correlated. Thru-hikers complete the entire route without stopping except to re-supply. Section thru-hikers complete the trail in segments, taking multiple years to move from end to end. It may take both groups the same number of weeks to finish; one user contained within a season, and the other spread across years.
It might be helpful to uncouple elapse and moving time when discussing our progress. Not all conditions are right to move continuously on our projects, and therefore, pausing may be the best decision even when it means the timer at the finish line continues to count upwards.
If we miss an opportunity, are the ones where it is inches or seconds from success more challenging to absorb than the opportunities that closed miles or days before we reached the finish line? Our raffle ticket being one number off the winning number. We felt potential success until the final moment. A missed flight where the aircraft is sitting at the gate or a race when a medal is lost by tenths of second. Technically, these end in the same result but our ability to be approximate to our goal can change our mindset. It can motivate us or undermine our morale.
How might we embrace the the journey and experiences we encountered along the way that serve as fuel for our next adventure, regardless of the results? How might we recognize the journey is not over, even when the itinerary is altered?
If the result had been two successful basketball shots, that is commonplace. When the result is two successful basketball shots spaced between numerous obstacles, ingenious design, mechanical systems, and a high probability of failure, we stay engaged and hope for a favorable outcome. The route we travel matters. The obstacles we overcome creates a more valuable result.
What-if-concepts 