Do You Know The Way..?

Back in 1968 Dionne Warwick sang a Grammy winning tune, "Do You Know The Way To San Jose?" You can find it on YouTube, and unlike many of the songs I heard while growing up in the 60's, if you listen closely enough you can understand the words. It's a very simple song with a very simple request: she's asking for directions. Nothing more, nothing less. And if you listen closely she explains why she wants to get back to San Jose: she's looking for peace of mind that she wasn't able to find anywhere else, and she sings about people she met in other places who lost their way, and she wants to regain her bearings.

A lot of us are like that. We want to gain our footing, or regain it if somehow we were knocked off our feet by the unpredictable ups and downs of life, and if we can't find our way on our own, we look for someone to point the way. It's not much different from something I've encountered many times in my life over the years, and you've probably had it happen to you too. Every now and then when I'm out and about, someone will approach me and ask for directions. They want to know if I can help them get somewhere, or find out where something is located. Usually I get questions like this:

"Can you tell me how to get to...?" 

"Do you know where (fill in the blank) is...?"

"Do you know the best way to get to...?"

"Do you know how I can find...?"

These and similar questions I have heard over the years, but they all have one thing in common: they were asked by people seeking direction. I was able to help some of them out because I had some familiarity with the area they asked about. I wish I could have pointed the way to all of them, but unfortunately I couldn't, for one simple reason: I had never been where they wanted to go, so I couldn't point them in the right direction. Nor had I heard of the places they mentioned, so I wasn't able to give them an idea as to how they could get there.  If Dionne Warwick asked me if I knew the way to San Jose, I'd have to say no because I've never been there.

This is as true in life as it is in business. How can you tell someone how to get where you haven't been, or worse, where you're not willing to go yourself? I saw a caption recently that was most profound. It spoke of, and demonstrated the difference between Management and Leadership. The Manager sat on a throne, looking down at his subordinates, pointed the way and said, "Go!" The Leader, in contrast, got off the throne, walked down among his subordinates, carried the same load they were carrying, and said, "LET'S Go!"  A small gesture but it made a huge difference in my mind. It reminded me of a saying I heard as a child (but never agreed with, even to this day): "Do as I say, not as I do..." No offense, but to me that is known as the "Hypocrite's National Anthem".  Why, you ask? Because I am not the least bit interested in following someone who has no desire or interest in going where I want to go, nor an inclination to help me find my way.

If you're reading this, and you want to be someone who points the way to others but you don't yet know the way yourself, don't lose heart. It is perfectly okay to say to someone, "I don't yet know the way, but I am willing to find out how to get where I want to go. Would you like to go, too?" It's not necessarily a matter of the blind leading the blind, provided you are wise enough to seek out someone who knows the way better than you do, so you can receive direction that you can pass on to others. Are you willing to humble enough, teachable enough, and coachable enough to do something like that? That is the question you must answer before you can move forward. It is often said the best leaders start out as the best followers. You cannot lead if you're not willing to follow.  And direction is the one thing you will not be able to give if you are not willing to receive.  Now, put that in your pipe and smoke it!

So today's lesson is merely this:  Learn the way, then lead the way. That's all. Nothing more, nothing less.

That's all for now, gotta run. Until we meet again, remember folks:

Keep it simple...See ya!