In John Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, he discusses the difference between an event and a process.
| Event |
Process |
| Encourages decisions |
Encourages development
|
| Motivates people |
Matures people
|
| Is a calendar issue |
Is a culture issue
|
| Challenges people |
Changes people
|
| Is easy |
Is difficult |
Maxwell’s description is what I use to describe the difference between “stuff and things” and actually having a plan.
If you focus on events and activities (stuff and things) you’ll always have a to-do list and will be able to check off many things each day. You have to decide what to do when, and accomplishing things can be motivating. It’s also the easy way. My mother had a phrase for this – “Rush, rush rush. Do, do do.”
It’s better to invest more time up front on the process – developing your plan. Everyone in the process will be motivated and they will also mature professionally. Your team will change the way they think and work resulting in a culture change (or evolution). This takes much more time. The end result will produce a much bigger success.
Success is the ultimate outcome. By following the process, you’ll be able to measure exactly how successful you were.
Posted on
Friday, May 29, 2009
by Sean Taylor Simpson
filed under