"Fools go aimlessly hither and thither..."

Okay - full disclosure.  My wife tells me (and she is probably right) that maybe I am not a "doer" as much as I am just impatient.  Fair enough.  She knows me better than anyone.


However, I want to continue the discussion about "planners" versus "doers" as I think it is still important (maybe the question is better posed as "are you an impatient planner versus a patient planner?").  The phrase "the blind leading the blind" is an old saying that has been around for a long, long time.  It is commonly used to describe the scenario when a person who is ignorant to certain details pertinent to a particular situation is getting advice and assistance from another person who also knows almost nothing about the situation.  I was surprised to learn that the phrase comes from a set of ancient Sanskrit philosophy texts known as the Upanishads that were published at some time between 800 BCE and 200 BCE:




Abiding in the midst of ignorance, thinking themselves wise and learned, fools go aimlessly hither and thither, like blind led by the blind.

How many times do we find ourselves going "aimlessly hither and thither?"  I had some firsthand experience over the weekend at a leadership retreat at Camp Joy (for a program called Leadership Cincinnati).  It was a great experience, and I had a lot of fun.  One of my favorite activities involved around 15 or 16 of us to blindfold ourselves and get from point A to point B.  Now, to be completely fair, point A was located about 400 yards away from point B, and any wrong turn would lead us into the woods, into the side of a building, or on to a ropes course.  We had around 50 minutes to make our plans, closely inspect the course (and remove any movable obstacles), and then navigate our way to our destination.  We did spend around 10-15 minutes looking over the course, trying to count our steps, removing any large obstacles along the way, etc.  Clearly, some of us were planners and some of us were doers.  The planners wanted to conduct a couple of practice "trial runs", while the doers just wanted to go (to borrow Nike's marketing slogan, "Just Do It").  Despite my label as an "impatient planner", in this activity, I was clearly in the "Doer" camp.


We did complete the task - in other words, we did successfully get the whole group from point A to point B, and it was even better that no one slipped or fell along the way!  There were some clear learning points for me though, and I think they are relevant to the whole "planner versus doer" discussion:


1.  We spent the first 10-15 minutes listening to different suggestions from the group.  At one point, I thought that maybe we should have elected a spokesperson to control the discussion.  But then, I thought that maybe that wasn't the best way to hear a lot of different ideas.  It was a true brainstorming session, and I think we came up with really great ideas that perhaps we wouldn't have considered if we had a spokesperson or elected leader to moderate ("control") the discussion.  So, important point #1 is that brainstorming can be a great way to generate innovative ideas and potential solutions.


2.  There were a few individuals who definitely contributed a lot to the discussion, maybe at the expense of including some of our other classmates.  So, important point #2 is that when you are brainstorming, you have to make sure that everyone gets a chance to speak up and contribute.  As a matter of fact, the success of the brainstorming session may be critically dependent upon hearing a diversity of opinions from everyone in the group rather than a limited number of outspoken individuals.


3.  Some planning is clearly required, but there clearly is a limit.  Overplanning ("paralysis by analysis") is not necessary and can even be detrimental.  So, important point #3 is that a good balance between planning and doing is most likely to lead to success!

4.  Everyone contributes.  Our facilitator moved the leaders to the back of the line on more than one occasion, which then forced someone else to take over the lead position (we were all linked up by placing one hand on the shoulder of the person in front of each one of us).  If everyone wasn't familiar with the plan, then we would have failed miserably.  So, important point #4 is that everyone has to know and understand the mission, the strategy, and the tactical plans for execution in order to be successful.


5.  Good communication is critically important.  We were able to accomplish our task because we communicated up and down the line.  "There's a dip in the road here" or "We are on the edge of the road here."  We were successful because we worked together.  And we were able to work together because we communicated with each other.  So, important point #5 is that good communication is the key to success, regardless of whether you are a planner or a doer.

It was a fun exercise, but the best part of the exercise was the learning.  And, we really weren't going aimlessly hither and thither - we had a purpose, we had a plan, and we executed.