In a Row or Becoming a Wall?

There is a phenomenon that never ceases to amaze me.

I have observed it many times with countless individuals,
businesses, teachers, churches, non profits and may occur
in any setting where individuals or groups have a vision.
A vision for something grand and glorious. A vision that
will have an amazing impact in their lives and the lives
of others.

Then what happens?

"I am getting my ducks in a row" comes the response.

Ah, yes. The planning to plan some more and get it all
perfect so that the vision will for sure reach its
magnificent best. That sounds like a respectable plan.

And somehow it is not uncommon that becoming enamored
with creating the plan becomes more powerful than putting
the plan into play.

The getting the ducks in a row runs the risk of building
a wall with the ducks. Instead, grow towards getting
the ducks to fly in a V formation so that they get where
they are going exponentially faster, stronger and more
effectively.

Canadian Geese are the most famous for flying in a V
formation. Scientist S. Sample notes, "the lead bird is
creating a turbulance wave that actual assists the birds
behind it. The further back you are in the formation,
the less energy you need in the flight. Lead birds do
rotate to keep exhaustion from happening."

The Geese naturally make this formation. They do not
push to make it happen, they share in the leading of the
group, and they get where they are going with enough
energy to complete the essence of their mission.

Another bird group that forms a V when in flight are
Swans. A very famous bird, the Swan is what the Ugly
Duckling transformed into as he grew up. Swans are
among the largest birds commonly seen and the 7 species
occur on most continents (not in Africa or Antarctica.)

The Swan also can take on an almost human characteristic
of staying committed to a vision. They mate for life
and carry their little ones on their back. It seems
fitting that they would cooperatively fly in the V
formation. Somehow I doubt they are concerned with
getting in a row and making walls between them and
their Swan families.

Which leads us back to where we started.

Are you taking your row of ducks and creating walls or
are you taking your row of ducks and making a V formation?

Are you paying attention to when you get tired, so you
step back into the stream of another lead or do you push
yourself to the point of exhaustion and put your vision
back on the shelf because it "did not work"?

Passion Activator: What can you learn from using the V
formation? In what way can you apply it to your current
business or life situation?

If there is no immediate answer, ask yourself the
questions above and let them float around (in a V
formation, naturally) through your subconscious mind.
When you least expect it, the idea will gracefully land
and wait for you to take the position, for a while, of
the lead duck.