I find this a useful parable about leadership, among other things.
Problem
You are a lieutenant in the army. In front of you is a sergeant, two privates, fifty feet of rope, a twenty foot pole, and an American flag. In 30 seconds or less, erect a flagpole.
How do you do it?
Solution
"Sergeant, get that flagpole up."
What?
- Delegation is a pillar of leadership.
- Sometimes the how doesn't matter, only the what.
- Sometimes you're too far away from the problem to solve it correctly.
- Sometimes you should get out of the way of people with different skills and let them do their job.
- You can't do everything. Don't try.