“Most people who see the truth refuse to acknowledge it. We can notice an unhappy customer, a shoddy product or a decaying industry, but we don’t want to be aware of it. Our attachment is to a future that looks like the past, and so we ignore the data or diminish its importance. We don’t mean to lie; we’re just in denial.”
– Seth Godin, Graceful
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“Never Walk Past a Mistake.
This is one of the first lessons drilled into young military leaders. To put it another way: make on-the-spot corrections. This serves a number of purposes.
First, and most obviously, correcting a mistake shows attention to detail and reinforces standards within an organization. Thus a young second lieutenant will always correct a soldier who fails to salute when he is passing by or who is wearing his insignia an inch off center. Tolerance of little mistakes and oversights creates an environment that will tolerate bigger and ultimately catastrophic mistakes.
Second, it teaches aspiring leaders to have the moral courage to speak out when standards are not being met. You never look the other way and pretend you didn’t see it just to avoid a confrontation or to be seen as petty.
Third, it shows the followers that you care about them, the unit, and its mission. If a follower knows that he has just made a mistake and gotten away with it, he loses confidence in the competence of the leader and has less respect for him.
Fourth, you set the example for all of your subordinate leaders to act in the same manner. High standards and mutual respect will flow up and down the organization.
Fifth, it keeps mistakes and screw-ups from moving to another level or, even worse, propagating. Take care of it now. Don’t assume somebody will take care of it later . . . even if it’s their responsibility.”
– Colin Powell, It Worked For Me
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The most dangerous denial is to ourselves.
If we walk past the problems in our lives then we reinforce that we do not need them to be addressed.
If we have low standards for ourselves, morale will suffer.
This can lead to a cascade of suffering.
It might not even be noticeable to others.
But we know.
And the knowing and accepting and ignoring can be dangerous.
If we neglect ourselves and what we know to be true then we erode a litte.
I am terrified to think of the destruction over a lifetime.
If this blog is the right place to say this, then I am a recovering denier.
Every day I follow my own steps to acceptance of the need to create.
I am on day 94 of taking responsibility for this public standards check.
Conversations With Quotations 