By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to help become more aware of your working environment. Reading time: 3:15.

           The pilots were stunned.  They were flying way too fast, more than 100 miles an hour faster than their B-29 bombers has been designed to fly during  World War II.

      The unplanned speed played havoc with their aim: fewer than five percent of their bombs accurately hit their planned targets.

     And no wonder when nearly 100 American airplanes found themselves inadvertently swept up into the jet stream — the ribbon of fast flowing air at high altitudes. Then at 30,000 feet those pilots were flying under the influence of the outside environment as never before and they had to adapt or fail.

            Leaders know the feeling of being pushed along by outside forces beyond their control, just like those B-29 pilots.

      And that’s why the most effective leaders are those who constantly monitor and adapt to their ever changing working environment.

         That means leaders have to be very aware of what others may take for granted –like the wind in particular and Mother Nature– in general.

                  That’s why the most effective leaders do everything they can to mother Mother Nature — to respect her, to honor her, to cherish her and to nourish her. After all Mother Nature wields plenty of power even without the jet stream at her disposal.

                For example, Mother Nature can flap her wings via a butterfly in India and a month later you feel a breeze in Indiana from that particular flap of the wings that pushed the air half way around the world. That’s what meteorologist Edward Lorenz dubbed the “Butterfly Effect.”

               And that’s why the most effective leaders have to be cognicent of the Butterfly Effect. They know only too well how their world can change  like the wind, one minute blowing a dreamy breeze and the next marshaling  a nightmare of a hurricane.

           Plunging Temperatures Half Way Around The World

That’s why leaders pay homage to Mother Nature as a mighty force that can push bombers faster than they are designed to fly. Imagine the enormous pushing power of Mother Nature’s winds when a volcano erupted in Indonesia in 1815. Mother Nature’s winds pushed so much of that volcanic dust half way around the world that in Savannah, GA  temperatures fell 40 degrees colder than usual when the volcanic dust cloud blocked out heat and radiation from the sun.

      Such is the might and majesty of Mother Nature. You can’t escape her awesome power.  Mother Nature packs a powerful punch. Even INDOORS. On June 15, 1976, a major league baseball game was rained IN! It happened at the indoor stadium in Houston called the Astrodome. Fans and umpires could not get to the game because of heavy rains and flooding even though both major league baseball teams –the Houston Astros and the Pittsburgh Pirates– were inside the indoor stadium and ready to play.  They cancelled the game. Mother Nature always wins out.

          So the lesson is clear for all effective leaders: Learn to play ball with Mother Nature.  Or fly out! No matter how high you fly.

Today’s ImproveMINT

Beware of your work  environment to keep your leadership thinking in mint condition.

SUBSCRIBE: Have a Leadership Mint delivered to your E-mail every business day. It’s free. Just click the SIGN ME UP box in the upper left column.