Mow The Backyard First | A Lesson In Leadership

My great-grandfather held a type of practical, country wisdom that seems to be fading from this world.

He carried with him several rules for living and one of those was stated without any elaboration, “Mow the backyard first.”

If you’re not a leader, then you may simply glaze over this as a preference of an old man. But any astute leader can see the complex lessons wrapped in this simple package.

Do the Hard Thing First

With any job there’s a certain percentage that we love doing, that’s easy to do… those things where we know we can knock it out of the park.

But then there’s that 20% or so that we dread. It takes more effort. It’s not glamorous. There’s no praise involved. But, it’s a necessary evil for achieving our overall success.

Do that first. Why?

If you mow the front lawn first, and it gets late, you get tired, someone comes along with a pleasant distraction, you’ll put off the backyard. After all, not so many people ever see the backyard. Then the backyard, somehow, ends up not getting mowed that week.

If you mow the backyard first and it gets late, you get tired, or someone comes along with a temptation, you’ll push yourself to get the front yard finished. You wouldn’t want the neighbors to think you were trashy or lazy.

In leadership, there are difficulties.

Have that tough conversation early. Then you don’t spend all day anxious about it or distracted thinking about it.

Tackle that unpleasant account first. Then if you have to stay late, at least you’re working on one of your more gratifying accounts.

Leaders Develop Teams

If you’re in a leadership position, or if you’re leading through influence, help others mow their back yards too. Work is always easier with a team.

I’m Jeff Anderson and if I can help you with the mowing, feel free to contact me.

[email protected]

813digital.com