"Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not guaranteed...so live today as if it is the best day
of your life." Many leaders I encounter are often stuck in the past-married to old paradigms that no longer function. Some of those "old paradigms" may be less than 10, even 5 years old. Some traditions are much older and much harder to uproot, kind of like ivy. On the other hand some leaders seem to be focused on the future hoping to stay ahead of the curve and the competition and thereby not seeing the trees for the forest.

I occasionally and sometimes painfully take a personal inventory or ask someone who knows me well to point out instances of where I seem stuck in the past-holding on for dear life to a tradition. While painful at times it does lead to growth, just as pruning a vine causes it to grow. So go ahead, ask yourself or someone or a close friend, perhaps your mentor, if you need pruning to rid yourself of old and ineffective patterns of leading while also growing to manage in the "now."

Paul S. Markle