November 14, 2022

How to get your ducks in a row

duck and ducklings crossing a road, lined up in a row behind the mother duck

I have been working on a project recently and suddenly realised that I was making a classic mistake. I was waiting until I had everything ‘ready’ before starting.

When you see a mother duck waddling along purposefully, the ducklings are often lined up behind her. Stop for a moment and think how this happens. Does the mother duck stop at the side of the road and wait until her ducklings are obediently lined up before proceeding to cross the road?

No. The mother duck just starts crossing the road and only then do the ducklings scurry into place behind her.

Often, you will need to set out to achieve a goal without any clear idea of how it will be done. If you wait for your ducks to line up, you will never get started.

“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase just to take the first step.” Dr Martin Luther King Jnr.

What step can you take today?

My best wishes, Paul

Paul Matthews

CEO and Founder of People Alchemy

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