Moon shot and Mouse trap

Once upon a time a mouse decided to take a walk out of the burrow. As he came out of his burrow, he saw a lion lying there in the shade. His first instinct was to scram back into the burrow. For some reason he decided to stand there and take a look. The lion had just finished a sumptuous meal and was in a good mood. He called out to the mouse.

“Hello little mouse, what are you up to?”

“Oh! Just trying to see if I can have some fresh air” little mouse replied

“What is the big deal about fresh air? If you decide to come out of that hole you can always have as much of it”

“It is easy for you to say that. You are so big. So nothing can happen to you. But for me, I have to be very, very careful.”

“My life is a misery. I have to be always on the lookout for the cats, the dogs the foxes and all such creatures who are trying to make a meal out of me” The little mouse continued.

“Oh! Is that all? The solution is very simple” The lion replied

“Really? Please oh king; please tell me what to do”

“Just become as big as me” The lion replied.

“But how is it possible?”The mouse asked

“That is for you to figure out. I am the king, I only make policy decisions” Lion replied

***

“I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space, and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish." President John F. Kennedy declared in his speech to U.S. Congress, May 25, 1961.

“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.” Later he described so about this audacious goal at a speech in Rice University, Houston.

In 1969 Luis Armstrong walked on the moon.

***

What is the difference between the above two stories other than that one is a made up story (not by me) and the other is a true story.

Both were tough challenges and ambitious goals. The first one was set by a leader without thinking through the competence of his team, what is realistically possible with the resource available; a wishful thinking.

The second one was founded on understanding on what could be achievable, supported with the right kind of resource allocation, and total commitment by the leader.

We see samples of both among our corporate leadership. Some set whimsical challenges for the team based purely on bravado or the latest management fad. Then they squeeze the team hoping that this pressure, threat and fear will deliver results.

Some set the goals founded on what the team is best at, what can give them a dream to strive for and then give them the necessary resources and training, induct complementary talent, give a free hand to deliver and extend them a hand of support when they hesitate.

This I suppose is the mark of a visionary leader. And the wisdom to see this difference is what we need to pray for.

''There is a wide difference between true courage and a mere contempt of life.'' Unknown