Are you a fan of star wars? Ever think that you might be living the movie? The other day I thought about how life as a process improvement guru is a lot like being Obi-Wan Kenobi. Everyone thinks you have all the answers and possess special powers. On many days you can feel the power of “The Force” helping you achieve great things but sometimes you feel weak and depleted and you find that you must find a quite place to rejuvenate. Everyday you face at least one, if not three, Darth Vader “like” opponents. They know how to use “The Force” and they are powerful but they use the Force for evil and they would not hesitate to destroy you.
You must hone your alliances and you need an ally like Yoda to help you stay focused on the path of good and you rely on him or her to protect you from any tendency on your part to move to the “Dark Side” as a means of gaining power or status. Yoda also alerts you to any surprise attacks from the your opponents. Sometimes you are held captive by Jaba the Hutt that enormous blob of greed created by your COO or CFO who cry “Find me more savings, more savings!”. You deal with a CEO who’s personality alternates between Chief Chirrpa of the Ewoks and that of the Emperor (aka: The Dark Lord).
Every once and awhile you find a Princess Leia - A kind and fearless soul who shares the same passion for improvement that you do and is willing to follow you into battle no matter what the odds. You probably have a young apprentice, your Luke Skywalker; eager and smart but sometimes a bit to impetuous and head strong so you sometimes find yourself in "damage-control mode" fixing some relationship problem that Luke created. And of course you may run into Hans Solo that untouchable rogue that everyone seems to love even though he really gets nothing done. And as you work late into the night trying to complete a past due project it’s often just you and R2D2 pounding out financial models, spreadsheets, and stats. In good times and bad but especially in your most desperate moments, remember one thing: "The Force will always be with you".
You must hone your alliances and you need an ally like Yoda to help you stay focused on the path of good and you rely on him or her to protect you from any tendency on your part to move to the “Dark Side” as a means of gaining power or status. Yoda also alerts you to any surprise attacks from the your opponents. Sometimes you are held captive by Jaba the Hutt that enormous blob of greed created by your COO or CFO who cry “Find me more savings, more savings!”. You deal with a CEO who’s personality alternates between Chief Chirrpa of the Ewoks and that of the Emperor (aka: The Dark Lord).
Every once and awhile you find a Princess Leia - A kind and fearless soul who shares the same passion for improvement that you do and is willing to follow you into battle no matter what the odds. You probably have a young apprentice, your Luke Skywalker; eager and smart but sometimes a bit to impetuous and head strong so you sometimes find yourself in "damage-control mode" fixing some relationship problem that Luke created. And of course you may run into Hans Solo that untouchable rogue that everyone seems to love even though he really gets nothing done. And as you work late into the night trying to complete a past due project it’s often just you and R2D2 pounding out financial models, spreadsheets, and stats. In good times and bad but especially in your most desperate moments, remember one thing: "The Force will always be with you".
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