We – you and me – sometimes draw a hard line in the sand.
Most of them, like what waves at the beach do to sandcastles, end up being washed away.
It’s a smarter practice to draw a soft line with a qualifiers – words like “unlikely,” “maybe,” and “probably” unless you’re willing to go to the mat for something.
That approach keeps your credibility, loses you less sleep, and perhaps makes you a more honest person. As Calvin Coolidge said, “The things I never say never get me into trouble.”
So when a former colleague asked me recently if I’d be interested in a corporate role she was trying to fill, I could think back to the commitment I made when I took my consulting practice full-time 8 years ago and people asked me if I’d ever go back “inside” and take a corporate job. “Unlikely” I said, “but there are two or three firms that I’d want to talk with if the right role came along.”
The note from the colleague was about one of those right firms; is the role the right role?
Who knows and hopefully I’ll get a chance to find out.
But do I think it’s likely? No.
As that famous sage Lindsay Lohan once said, “Never say never. The things that you don’t plan are the best. I’m a very spontaneous person.”
Life Back West is an occasional set of writings focused on ways people, teams and organizations can be both more effective (doing the right thing) and more efficient (doing the right thing well). More about executive, career and team / leadership coaching services can be found at the “About J. Mike Smith and Back West, Inc.” sidebar or the “Hire Me” tab. You can also read an online interview with me at WhoHub.
Lindsay Lohan. Photo credit: rocor.