Monday Morning Mojo

Life is a Contact Sport

I first read Peter Senge’s book, The Fifth Discipline: the Art and Practice of the Learning Organization, in the mid 90s. I had never heard of Senge and was impressed by his approach. I shared the book with my boss and within a couple of weeks we were in sitting in Senge’s office in Cambridge discussing our organization's plans in detail with him.

Our ability to quickly meet and learn from the best greatly accelerated our success. At the time I was working on Knowledge Management at the World Bank. We experienced meteoric success in the year ahead and received international recognition for our program. Part of our triumph was due to our ability to find and meet with the people who could make a difference, fast.

For my executive clients I often include a component of competitive intelligence, gathering and analyzing the knowledge they need to make strategic decisions. It's not unusual to identify a specific individual who has key information. Whenever possible I meet them face-to-face. The quality of the interaction is high. I build a relationship I can continue to draw on. And, my life is the richer for having met an expert face-to-face.

If there is someone you believe can make a difference in your life then pick up the phone and get on a plane. Life is a contact sport. You deserve to be in touch with people who can make a difference for you.

VisionaryLeadership.com