Don't Skip a Step

Have you ever had a big project or errand to run, and you start thinking about how, maybe, you could do something a little different and get it done quicker? You could call it cutting corners, skipping a step, trimming the fat, whatever it is, think twice first.

Don’t skip a step. When you do, you essentially are prioritizing your short term efficiency over your long term investment. Skipping a step is placing more value in the destination than the journey, which compromises the growth and learning you experience while you’re on your path. It’s about building a foundation that you can safely use to grow upon, rather than constructing a tall building for the view at the top, that just might tip over.

This requires an awareness for the process, and an understanding that the small components are fundamentals not inconveniences. To be an effective leader you need to have a competency in the small tasks to be able to manage those who are performing them. The only way you can ever acquire that knowledge is by being a practitioner who learned it in the first place.

There are things in life that you can fake. You can go through the motions, and get the job done without anyone noticing any change in execution. But when you do that, you’re cheating yourself and teaching yourself that you’re not worth the time and energy.

Don’t skip a step, don’t take shortcuts, it’s a long game but it’s one that will be worth it in the end.