CHOOSE THE POWER OF THE "AND"

A man had a job interview where the interviewer said that life is about choices and one choice he had to make was whether to have a great career OR a great marriage. He said he chose his career.  He is also divorced.

The man agreed that life was about choices and his choice was to have a fulfilling career AND a great marriage. Needless to say, the man was not interested in the job since the interviewer would have been his boss.

In Jerry Porras and Jim Collins' book, Built to Last, the authors refer to the tyranny of the "OR" and the genius of the "AND" when referring to habits of companies that delivered superior results over a sustainable period. The main theme for these high performing companies was the ability to preserve their core philosophy AND stimulate progress. It was never about trade-offs or concessions but about the desire and discipline to achieve both.

We have choices every day in life and many times we see people and organizations limit their options and potential by choosing OR instead of AND when making decisions. Why?

Because the OR is easier!

The AND requires both desire and discipline. If you have both, then the results are much more rewarding!

We challenge you and your organization to build the power of the "AND" into all of your decision making processes. You have too much potential to settle for anything less!


You can:

  • have a fulfilling career AND a great marriage

  • care for your employees AND hold them accountable for their actions

  • enjoy your work AND make a lot of money

  • love your children AND let them learn life's lessons

  • stimulate conflict AND build consensus

  • be creative AND disciplined

  • have fun AND deliver results

  • be confident AND humble

  • be caring AND direct

  • make money AND be a great corporate citizen

  • be serious AND interesting

  • be silly AND smart

  • satisfy customers AND make great margins

  • be ethical AND successful

  • be virtual AND productive

  • simple AND thought provoking

  • challenge the status quo AND be constructive

  • give products/services away AND make money

  • be low cost AND high quality

 

These are just a few that come to mind. Please share your personal favorites in the comment section and do an exercise with your team to find other “AND” statements that resonate with your team.  Let's share the power of the "AND" with others and see what amazing things happen!

Productivity, Critical ThinkingDerrick StrandPower of the AndComment