On the road that leads to AWESOME!
It was 45 years ago, 30 March 1979, that I was Commissioned a Second Lieutenant (Infantry) in the United States Army… while still a “Knob” at The Citadel. A “Knob” as a Junior… and an Army 2nd Lieutenant… at The Citadel. Yep… sounds crazy and it was. I was to walk along a path that no others had walked (and one that others had never observed)… and each day I was reminded why.
As Kid President says so eloquently:
A poem, “two roads diverged in the woods… and I took the road less traveled…” And it hurt, man! Really bad! Rocks! Thorns! and Glass! my pants broke! waahh! Not cool, Robert Frost! But what if there really were two paths? I want to be in the one that leads to awesome.
I’m forever grateful to James & Merle Carroll (from Ozark, Alabama) and Colonel (Ret.) John K. Gibler and Major Doug Rich in particular for their extraordinary leadership. My situation was extremely unique, requiring numerous exceptions and a healthy dose of creativity.
Colonel (Ret.) Gibler and the Army ROTC Cadre at The Citadel modeled what it is really like to take care of your Soldiers… and I’ll never forget that. Airborne, All the Way, Sir!
Well… I was on the road that led to AWESOME.
It was a unique and extraordinary journey that provided me with an equally unique and extraordinary perspective on life. What an incredible honor and privilege to serve… and the journey continues.
And you know what… I am still on the road that leads to AWESOME.
If we accept that chaos is the “new normal” and that “VUCA” (Volatility–Uncertainty–Complexity–Ambiguity) is a reasonable framework to recognize the nature of the conditions that we operate in, then that begs a question: “How can we best operate in this VUCA environment?” I believe that EMBRACE THE WOBBLE™ will unfold as an extraordinary solution to a stable and balanced life.
INDIVIDUAL STABILITY
Simply put, I believe INDIVIDUAL STABILITY is the most fundamental and essential requirement in life. Other people can tell you about it, demonstrate it, and even try to teach you with tips, tricks, and shortcuts. But I believe it’s an inside-out process that’s best attained through Self-Development (the first phase of LEAD FROM YOUR CURRENT POSITION®).
In order to be highly effective… in fact, EXTRAORDINARY, we must seek to master INDIVIDUAL STABILITY. Yes, it’s a lifelong journey. But, like learning to fly a helicopter, your first major task is to HOVER… to firmly establish yourself on the path to master INDIVIDUAL (aircraft) STABILITY.
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If we accept that chaos is the “new normal” and that “VUCA” is a reasonable framework to recognize the nature of the conditions that we operate in, then that begs a question: “How can we best operate in this environment?” How can we flourish in a VUCA world? Some suggest that the best response to VUCA is VUCA PRIME (first introduced by Bob Johansen, a distinguished fellow at the Institute for the Future). It is a method to counter each of the elements of VUCA with a specific counterpart.
Consider this unique approach.
Every organization must be prepared to abandon everything it does to survive in the future.” Peter Drucker
VISION—UNDERSTANDING—CLARITY—AGILITY
over
Volatility–Uncertainty–Complexity–Ambiguity
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