James Carville and Paul Begala, two of the brightest brains behind President Bill Clinton’s administration, authored a book that has some great insights for all leaders.
Despite being political enemies in the 90’s, Buck Up, Suck Up… and Come Back When You Foul Up: 12 Winning Secrets from the War Room includes a story about Newt Gingrinch that every leader should read and heed—especially when it comes to credit union strategic planning.
Here’s the excerpt:
Newt Gingrich is one of the most successful political leaders of our time. Yes, we disagreed with virtually everything he did, but this is a book about strategy, not ideology. And we’ve got to give Newt his due. His strategic ability—his relentless focus on capturing the House of Representatives for the Republicans—led to one of the biggest political landslides in American history.
Now that he’s in the private sector, Newt uses a brilliant illustration to explain the need to focus on the big things and let the little stuff slide: the analogy of the field mice and the antelope.
A lion is fully capable of capturing, killing, and eating a field mouse. But it turns out that the energy required to do so exceeds the caloric content of the mouse itself. So a lion that spent its day hunting and eating field mice would slowly starve to death. A lion can’t live on field mice. A lion needs antelope. Antelope are big animals. They take more speed and strength to capture and kill, and once killed, they provide a feast for the lion and her pride. A lion can live a long and happy life on a diet of antelope. The distinction is important. Are you spending all your time and exhausting all your energy catching field mice? In the short term it might give you a nice, rewarding feeling. But in the long run you’re going to die. So ask yourself at the end of the day, “Did I spend today chasing mice or hunting antelope?”
So I ask: Where is your energy being spent? On field mice or antelope? It’s easy to bask in the success of a small victory, but did you really accomplish anything?
The YMC strategic planning process is built around helping your credit union find and attack the antelope for big wins that fuel real growth. Are you ready to take that next step? Email Bo, and let’s get hunting.
