A Cut Above the RestSample

Wise Words; Wiser Actions

The unravelling of Pharaoh’s dreams was not the only thing that was impressive about Joseph. What he did when he was appointed as the Prime Minister of Egypt was even more remarkable. He travelled throughout Egypt (Gen 41:46) and surveyed the entire land. He got a firsthand view of the land’s capability to produce crops. As a wise administrator, he thought of every aspect of the plan. He had tremendous foresight and set up storage houses around the city instead of in the centre of the city (v 48), to avoid possible stampede! He envisioned problems ahead of time.

In our workplaces, we are often asked for advice, thoughts and solutions to business problems. And many of us provide extraordinary ideas and brilliant solutions. But when the solution plan is entrusted to us for execution, we fail miserably. The talk doesn’t do the walk. And then the credibility of the ideas that we offered initially is also questioned. So, it is important to succeed not only in our words, but also in our actions. We have to demonstrate that we can be trusted with the implementation as well. We have to have a game plan, a strategy, a detailed project plan, a team of trustworthy people, sharp skills and an eye that can look beyond the obvious.

Ram Charan, a Management guru, says, ‘Execution requires a comprehensive understanding of a business, its people, and its environment’. So, it is imperative that one goes beyond the superficial understanding of affairs.

Spend ample time with all associated with that project. Ask insightful questions, view a problem from all possible angles, do not settle for an easy answer, read up all possible material on the subject that you can lay your hands on, draw mind maps based on what you have understood. And once you have exhausted all your sources of information, then sit down to chalk out your execution plan. What comes of such meticulous detailing and research is what results in precise execution and yields the expected results. Anything short of this will easily topple like a house of cards.

Our wisdom is tested often by our actions and not merely by our words.

Dear Lord, give me the wisdom to put into action the plans I have made so that my walk matches my talk.