A Lesson in Ownership

Children who love pets—especially cats—teach us powerful life lessons. Here’s a lesson in ownership taught me by the eight-year-old who lives across the street from me. Several years ago, this young girl said: “Mr. Wayne, have you seen the feral cat roaming in our neighborhood?” I replied, “No, I haven’t seen the feral cat.”

Two days later, she asked me, “Mr. Wayne, have you seen the feral black cat that hides in my shrubs?” I replied, “No, I haven’t seen the feral black cat that hides in your shrubbery.” I was glad I had asked my wife, “What is a feral cat?” Because her next question was, “Mr. Wayne, do you know what a feral cat is?” “Yes,” I answered, “a wild, homeless cat.”

The next day, the young girl said: “Have you seen Shadow?” The feral cat that had become the wild black cat now had a name: Shadow. There is a progression here.

Several days later, as I got into my car, the neighbor girl came running across the street, shouting, “Please, Mr. Wayne, don’t back out over, my cat.” For her, the feral cat had now become her cat. She had taken ownership.

This story offers a four-step problem-solving procedure.

Problem Stage 1: The issues are vague, random, and often wild (feral) in form. But something is amiss or brewing. Your challenge is to get your hands around these non-defined, frequently unusual occurrences and mold them into a coherent shape. Problems can’t stay feral or wild.

Problem Stage 2: Vague issues are described. How will they affect me? Gather your arms around the looming problem. Name it. Make the problem as visible as possible. Then, look for facts. Each additional information fact brings new knowledge. New knowledge leads to better decisions and better problem resolution.

Problem Stage 3: The problem has a name, and the potential payoff is defined. Identify the problem. Pay careful attention. What you name the problem represents what and what it is not. The more specifically you state the problem, the quicker you solve it. Often, in describing the problem, you reveal the solution.

Problem Stage 4: You must take ownership to resolve the problem. Take responsibility. Successful people know they have the power—and the responsibility—to fix the issues that confront them. The courage to face and solve problems defines a successful person. Successful people take ownership of a problem.

Any problem that has the power to affect you should have your name of ownership attached to it; please take a look at the issue as an opportunity to show your problem-solving skills.?

From “That Reminds Me of a Story” https://a.co/d/cFdw8gd