Winning means seeing the big picture

“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” Winston Churchill

Sometimes we are so hell bent on proving our strategy. Solidifying our position. And when we do, we don’t even see we are destroying all that we have worked for as a result. The motto of my alma mater, The Berkeley Institute, “Respice Finem, Keep the End in View” reminds me all the time to first understand what it is I am trying to achieve before implementing any plans to achieve it.  Enabling me to change and adapt whenever I need to - always keeping my eye on the intended result.  Seeing the big picture.

Strategies are merely guidelines setting the foundation for us to achieve what we want. If we remember it is ultimately the results we want. Not the strategy. Therefore strategy is dynamic not static. Flexible not rigid. Such that when we aren’t seeing the results we want, we need to accept our strategy is flawed. Have the nerve to admit it is flawed. Change it before we find ourselves in a worse position than we were before.

As Kahlil Gibran once said, “Be willing to find a truth rather than saying I have found the truth.”  And not only say it, believe it. Adopt it. Be it. We do not know the answers to it all. We are imperfect beings so we must adapt. Be willing to listen. Be willing to change direction. Be willing to compromise. No man is an island. We do not operate in isolation. Our whole Universe is interconnected. Therefore what one does have a ripple effect on us all.

Sometimes it’s better to get our point across without necessarily having to prove we are right. Sometimes winning means being willing to walk away, acquiesce,  be empathetic. Not aggressive and in your face. Always winning means treating others the way we want to be treated. 

And only then will we be able to understand and follow Churchill’s advice, “However beautiful the strategy, we (sic) should occasionally look at the results.”