In an earlier post, “Who is advocating for the right thing.” I argued the importance of stopping and thinking. One example I used was the Iraq War:
“There seems to be general agreement that more planning prior to the Iraq war might have provided better results. How different do you think those discussions looked compared with those in your business? ‘Look we can plan forever but we need to take action. We’ll figure out the details as we go.’ We’re still figuring them out.”
It turns out, according to an article in the May 26, 2008 issue of US News and World Report that the military has been one step ahead of me for the past two years.
The article, “To Battle Groupthink, the Army Trains a Skeptics Corps” talks about an Army program called “Red Team”. Red Teamers are trained to be skeptics and challenge the status quo. According to Greg Gontenot, the program director, “This is having someone inside that says, ‘Wait a minute, not so fast’”.
The Army gets it. There are few organizations that employ a more hierarchical model or have a necessity for action than the Army. Yet, the Army understands that dissension, discussion, and challenging the status quo, when done properly, can save lives and ensure victory.
I can give you the greatest reason to move ahead for success, and that is “Because, I have a big dream”
I want to achieve more and to get the best in my life, thats why I will not stop moving forward.
http://blog-success.blogspot.com
Moving forward continually is the right thing. This entry and the US News Week are not about standing still(the title was meant as a paradox). It’s about taking time to stop and think while you move forward.
Lots of people forge ahead after big dreams. For every one who succeeds thousands fail. Often the ones who succeed took some time to think about how to achieve that dream rather than just moving forward blindly.
That’s what this is about.
Sometimes we have “selective” hearing and seeing. That is, we move forward based upon those perceptions that are inline with ard congruent with what we want. If we really want to “move ahead for success” then we have to ask ourselves the difficult questions or have friends that provide critical feedback similar to the “Red Team” group. Their answers might challenge us- we might even initially feel defensive- but at least we move forward with as full a grasp of a scenario as we can pre-emptively paint.
May be you got my idea wrong, we have to keep moving ahead but we must have our own goals. Life is a journey and we have to go on our own. First we think about our selfs and then we help others.