For the past ten years a copy of The Daily Drucker has always been on my desk. This book has a business pearl of wisdom for every day of the year so I try and get to it every day. I also dip into it when I need some inspiration focusing on or articulating a thought around business and leadership. It rarely disappoints.
My partner and I are constantly looking for stories to help CEOs and their leadership team frame their approach to developing the organization's leadership capabilities. These people often struggle to see the strategic benefits of enabling all levels of their organization's leadership. So these stories need to help them get beyond the "lack of budget", or "lack of time", or "lack of desire to develop leaders just so they can be poached", or "lack of being unable to see the ROI" default arguments.
This morning I was reading The Daily Drucker for the 29th of September. It is an old story about the three stonecutters. When asked what they were doing the first one said "I am making a living". The second one said "I am becoming the best stonecutter in the country". And the third one said "I am building a cathedral."
Investing in enabling the leaders in your organization who are 'building a cathedral' is essential. Because, if you don't, you will be left with a culture that is based upon a lack of engagement and a myopic focus. This sort of culture burns the two most important commodities of any enterprise: time and money.
So this Daily Drucker raises two questions. Do you know which people in your organization are helping you build your cathedral? And, perhaps most importantly, are you enabling them as cathedral builders?
nmja
