Saturday, February 12, 2005

Are you taking part or watching from the touchline?

"Commit! Engage! Try! Fail! Get up! Try again! Fail again! Try again!

But never, ever stop moving on!

Progress for humanity is engendered by those who join and savour the fray by giving one hundred percent of themselves to their dreams!

Not by those timid souls who remain glued to the sidelines, stifled by tradition, and fearful of losing face or giving offence to the incumbent authorities.

Commit! Engage! Try! Fail! Persist!"

Tom Peters April 2004

Typical Tom Peters and in there are some real gems.

It seems to me we have at least a couple of choices.

One choice is to take part and try and make a difference and the other choice is to stand on the sidelines and watch those who are prepared to put their head above the parapet (and risk having it shot off) in the name of learning and moving forward either personally or for the greater good of society.

I guess we all need to make up our minds on which side we sit.

For all of us that decision is going to be influenced by many things. Not least the need for security that some people crave and the natural risk aversion in some individuals.

I do not think there is a right and wrong answer - it is entirely up to indivduals and their cicumstances.

Wherever you sit .... you must admit it is an interesting quote from the ebullient Tom - his rants are legendary - I love them - and this one really made me think.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks Tom - great to see new names on my Simplicity blog - welcome - please tell your friends.

I love the way you put it - like most men I have never been able to dance well but I am always prepared to 'have a go'

Rattling the cage from inside the organisation is possible but sometimes one gets tired of that and leaves - I guess that is what happened to me after 35 years in the NHS.

But I do strongly believe in trying, trying and then trying again many times before you give up.

Small but important imporvements in my department of my little part of the NHS always felt great - and that was the great satisfaction.

To try and change the entire system needs immense leaderhip and probably someone like Tom Peters in charge ... alas that will probably never happen.

The best we mere mortals can do is to at least take part and try to make a difference.

Regards

Trevor