Graham🐝 Edwards

8 years ago · 2 minutes of reading · ~100 ·

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The first one through the wall...

The first one through the wall...

I heard this said in a movie* once.

"The first one through the wall always gets bloody..."

0f5343b1.pngThis refers to the simple fact that when you are the first one to try something, run counter to what is currently accepted, or simply want to try to do something different, it can sometimes feel like you are attempting to crash through a wall. And when you have finally broken through that wall, you tend to be left exhausted, beaten up, and more often than not a little "bloody"... all figuratively speaking of course, although sometimes actual blood does get spilled. It also goes without saying that the people on the other side may not be so happy to see you.  
But how is this wall built... metaphorically speaking that is? That's actually an easy question to answer.

All you have to do is propose something... new idea, a new way of doing something, or fish instead of your regular Wednesday night cheese and bacon burger — Anytime you propose doing anything, a wall is instantly created.

Most of the time these walls are very small, insignificant and easy to crash through, sometimes they can be fairly tall and not so easy to get through, and every so often the wall is very, very high, and awfully thick. And although not scientifically validated, there is no doubt there's a correlation between how "different" the proposal is and how "high and thick" the wall will be. You probably already know what makes up this wall —

  • The establishment saying it can't be done, or doesn't want it done.
  • The fear of failure or the comfort with the status quo.
  • People not prepared to invest the energy to make it happen. 
  • A lack of understanding or desire to learn.
  • Personal gains that do not want to be given up.
  • A fear of change.
  • The need to challenge and pressure check ideas to ensure they are the best they can be.
  • Et Cetera...

Other than a nice metaphor and reference to a movie I like, there really is a point to all of this — Your "proposals" (and the metaphorical walls they create) are indicative of Leadership. Remember that by its very definition, "beingfirst through the wall" means there will be a second, a third, et cetera to follow... and isn't that what Leadership is all about**. 

So the next time you say, "I propose we do this", remember that by definition you are building a wall, and the action you are taking to crash through is defining your leadership. Be bold, and crash through with abandon! 

There are people waiting to follow for sure.


iamgpe   www.gpestratagem.com 

* The movie is Moneyball and the quote comes from the owner of the Boston Red Sox as he is talking to Billy Beane. It's also a great book.

** Yes I know Leadership is a little bit more but this is only a 500 word blog, and I'm taking some artistic licence.


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Comments

Graham🐝 Edwards

8 years ago#5

Thanks for the comments Peter Altschuler. You are right about the timing for sure, alas it's only in hindsight do we know if it was good timing. Thanks for reading.

Graham🐝 Edwards

8 years ago#4

#3
One of my most favourite albums to be sure... Thanks Ben Pinto

Graham🐝 Edwards

8 years ago#3

#2
Great comment and insights CityVP \ud83d\udc1d Manjit. Thanks !

CityVP Manjit

8 years ago#2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjf1O4jMqeM&spfreload=10 That particular clip from Moneyball is a classic - it speaks to what only a handful of people will do, because the rest will scurry like rats and live in their commercial cages and maybe even have a benevolent employer who provides them a wheel for entertainment, and this is a clip that is way too important to place as a footnote - it definitely puts into stark context the enormity of what you are speaking about here. I also think of that Moneyball clip as the difference between the dark extension of the 21st Century and the bright new dawn of the 21st Century. The way things go down in organizations or through institutions or by people who operate from the dinosaur perspective that especially made such carnage of the 20th Century - and is at risk of repeating that carnage in our century now. I may have spent four decades in the prior century, but I am coming up-two decades in our century. If transformation continues to represent this circumstance, then it means I will have lived six decades under that circumstance - but if the map of life has actually changed, the way we look at things has subtly transformed, then you and I will become the luckiest people in the history of civilization - because we will be among the first walking in this new light, this transition that has begun. When change is the constant, adapting and continuously evolving organizations will not need to hire the dinosaurs (whether they are young or old). That we lived while dinosaurs existed is just a fact of time but it is not the way things need to be and eventually will not be.

CityVP Manjit

8 years ago#1

That particular clip from Moneyball is a classic - it speaks to what only a handful of people will do, because the rest will scurry like rats and live in their commercial cages and maybe even have a benevolent employer who provides them a wheel for entertainment, and this is a clip that is way too important to place as a footnote - it definitely puts into stark context the enormity of what you are speaking about here. I also think of that Moneyball clip as the difference between the dark extension of the 21st Century and the bright new dawn of the 21st Century. The way things go down in organizations or through institutions or by people who operate from the dinosaur perspective that especially made such carnage of the 20th Century - and is at risk of repeating that carnage in our century now. I may have spent four decades in the prior century, but I am coming up-two decades in our century. If transformation continues to represent this circumstance, then it means I will have lived six decades under that circumstance - but if the map of life has actually changed, the way we look at things has subtly transformed, then you and I will become the luckiest people in the history of civilization - because we will be among the first walking in this new light, this transition that has begun. When change is the constant, adapting and continuously evolving organizations will not need to hire the dinosaurs (whether they are young or old). That we lived while dinosaurs existed is just a fact of time but it is not the way things need to be and eventually will not be. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjf1O4jMqeM&spfreload=10

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