Businesses Need Both Gardeners and Firemen to Succeed

“You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”
— Matthew 23:24, NIV

While I am not one to regularly quote scripture in a business blog, these strong words uttered by Jesus ring very true in today’s business climate.

To put this verse in context, Jesus was reading the riot act to the religious leaders of the day. He was pointing out the ridiculous nature of some of their rules and laws, while ignoring the important things in their lives and the ministry in general.
 
In business, we can fall victim to the same attitudes as the Pharisees that Jesus was rebuking. We focus so much on the problem or situation in front of us at that very moment we often miss the “big picture” or the underlying cause or causes of our troubles.

In business, there are usually two kinds of managers — gardeners and firemen.

Gardeners tend to constantly tweak, check and adjust their businesses. They love the idea of taking on a project and helping it to grow.

Firemen, on the other hand, only jump into action when there is a fire to extinguish. They are very competent at swooping in during an emergency, moving fast, and saving the day.

Both types of managers have their strengths, but neither fully grasp the entirety of their positions. And each could learn something from the other.

Gardeners do not get rattled very often, but their need to “work on the garden” constantly can cause others to feel “meddled with” or “not trusted to do the job.”

Firemen are often slow to move. Without smoke or flames, the fireman does not even notice the potential problem before it erupts. Then, when things ignite, the fireman tends to break whatever is necessary to put out the fire, including camaraderie, loyalty and morale.

It is the manager who can strike a balance between being a gardener and a fireman that really can see positive, long-term progress in business.

Like the gardener, a good manager will keep a watchful eye on the details of the business, helping others without meddling.

Like the fireman, a good manager will spring into action when necessary, making swift and just decisions that preserve and protect the company.

Getting back to the scripture, we need to recognize what things rank highest in importance for our business. These would be the guiding principles which are not negotiable.

However, we also need to recognize that items which are not part of the core principles are may not be worth getting “fired up” over. If all we do is create rules, policies and regulations, then we are not growing our businesses. We are merely micromanaging them.

Jesus saw how much damage the religious leaders of the day were doing to the Jewish faith. They were so wrapped up in the regulations, they forgot the core values behind them.

As leaders in our own businesses, we need to identify and keep our core values and principles at the forefront of every decision we make. It is amazing how many things we thought were “camels” turn out  to be just “gnats.”

Until Next Time...