The situation is the boss

Thought: “The situation is the boss. There were times when I was in charge of everything. There were times when Jerry was in charge of everything. Then, at another time, it would be someone else. - Then, it would be a truck that had a blown carburetor. That carburetor was the boss at that moment.” - Steve Parish, The Grateful Dead roadie.?

Tip: 'The situation is the boss' was a statement popularised by Steve Parish during his time on the road with The Grateful Dead.?

It was his way of saying that it doesn’t matter who thinks they’re in charge at the time, the situation always dictates what is needed, what is prioritised and what your schedule looks like.

He uses the example of a blown carburetor whilst on the road.

You could have all the good intentions in the world and plan your trip down to the nth degree, but once that truck breaks down, you’re not going anywhere until it’s fixed.

In other words, the carburetor is the boss until it’s fixed, then you’ll never think of it until it breaks down again.

In this simple statement, there is a great deal to unpack about situational awareness, humility, perspective, prioritisation, and the subtle art of letting go for the greater good.

It’s something that can mean a great many things to all of us, and something that warrants sitting with and thinking about to take what we will from it.

For instance, Eliza may be the boss of her company, but when a new project timeline gets pushed up and it’s all hands on deck, the project is now the boss of the company.

There is a certain aspect of the project that is creating a bottle neck and nothing can get done before it’s resolved.

Sundeep is the expert in that department and knows exactly what needs to be done to fix the issue, so now that bottleneck and Sundeep are in charge (if Eliza has the sense to step back and allow it).

Whilst working late one night, Eliza suffers a mild heart attack and is taken to hospital.

This means that, at least for Eliza, the heart attack and the team of doctors attending to her are the new head honchos.

On the way home from the hospital Eliza’s 4 year old son throws up in the car, making the vomit-strewn backseat the next president and CEO.

In life and in business there are always situations and these situations dictate our actions.

It’s up to us to recognise who or what is in charge at any given moment and step up when we need to, step back when we should, and make sure the boss gets exactly what they need.?

Question: What is ‘the boss’ in your life right now?

News: Research by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and University of Amsterdam found that by being open and kind, bosses could mitigate attempts by their workers to collude by 65 per cent - kindness pays off.

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