The thing about progress…
by: Sean McDonald
The renowned Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote, “the thing about progress is that it always seems greater than it really is.”
There is certainly truth in that statement. How many times have you heard (or said yourself) that “we’re making progress” after a meeting or when giving a report? Chances are, it’s probably more than you would care to admit. I’m guilty as well!
The problem with “we’re making progress” is that the “progress” referenced is not usually defined. If you’re truly making progress, you should be able to answer an inevitable follow-up question from a true leader. Namely, “what does that mean, exactly?”
You don’t ever want to be unprepared to answer that follow-up. You want to have details at the ready. You need to be able to demonstrate the progress to which you just attested. If you can do all of these, you are indeed being truthful when you say that you’re making progress.
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