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Press Your Boundaries Forward

How tight are your boundaries?

When I worked at GE an expression that was popular was "boundaries". We were boundaries in our search for solutions, in our work to satisfy customers, and in our pursuit of profit. Boundaries were permeable, not insurmountable. With one exception: integrity. That was one boundary that could not be stretched, could not be crossed, and could not be ignored.

But for other boundaries much of the time our sense of what the boundary is depends on our perspective. How fixed it is depends on our creativity. How cold it is depends on our compassion. How formless it is depends on our clarity. And how limiting it is depends on our courage.

We need to consider all four of these leadership strengths when we find ourselves held by boundaries.

Without examining our boundaries and staying curious about why they are there or what function they serve we stay stuck. Stuck is not where we want to be. To get past stuck might take creativity, and it certainly takes courage.

Courage lives outside of our comfort zone and presses our boundaries forward.

Forward toward our goals. Forward toward our vision. Forward toward a better world.

Press your boundaries forward and avoid getting stuck again.

-- Doug Smith


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