Last week, I spoke at a conference in Spokane and flew in and out of their airport. After dropping off my rental car to head home, I hightailed it straight to the nearest security point. Spokane is not a huge airport and I have TSA pre-check, so the process was pretty painless. Until I went to find Gate C22.
Fortunately, I decided against getting lunch right away as I was early. Instead, I started searching for C Gate. There was A; there was B, and then there was nothing. I asked one of the security people where I could find C Gate. She looked at me with empathy (as if I was not the first person this happened to) and told me I needed to go back outside to the terminal, take a left and start walking. She said, “If you think you’ve walked too far, you’re not there yet.” So off I went.
Basically, I lost time, effort, and energy (and added a pinch of frustration) by going to the wrong destination. The security point clearly stated this was for A and B gates. In my haste, I overlooked reading the signs and planning ahead. It might have been much worse had I not arrived early.
It’s also easy for business owners and leaders to go to their own “wrong gate.” In our haste to achieve revenue goals, project completions, leadership development, and a myriad of other objectives, it’s easy to overlook the signs and planning required for a successful outcome. That leads to your own loss of time, effort, and energy; and might also include loss of opportunity and more than a pinch of frustration.
Bottom line – read the signs. Get help when you need it. Know where you’re going and why. And make sure you get to your destination safely and rapidly.
Quote of the Week:
“Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.”
~ Lou Holtz, former college and pro football coach and analyst
