Don’t expect to enjoy the fruits of the seeds you didn’t sow.
It will not take long until you will find someone who will speak about the low hanging fruits. Fruits that are easy to reach as a metaphor for achieving progress with little effort. It makes sense at first, but then you might realize that there are many more fruits to take care of, and not just the ones that are considered low hanging. What if we all only focus on the low hanging fruits and leave the other fruits out to rot? What would that mean for the harvest? And what does it do to our mindset when we continue to condition ourselves on the low hanging fruits, the progress that takes as little effort as possible?
Think of people like Michael Jordan, who speaks about all the shots he missed and how much effort he invested in training and practice. Think of the truckdriver who, after many years of experiences and who knows how many scratches and incidents, is now able to park that huge vehicle with overwhelming accuracy in spots where it seems impossible. The pilot who saves hundreds of people by responding the right way to an emergency situation, and safely lands the plane, its crew and passengers under very difficult conditions.
Imagine that all the people who work tirelessly to improve their skills and capabilities would have decided to only focus on the low hanging fruits. Imagine that effort becomes something we continue to reduce because all we want is the low hanging fruits, the easy value creation.
There is a right moment to opt for the low hanging fruits and there are moments where the only way of achieving improvement is the long haul big picture approach. Maybe, just maybe, our collective shortsighted low-hanging-fruits prioritizing has brought us in the current climate situation. Maybe, just maybe, we need to refocus our priorities and accept that we can not expect to enjoy the fruits of the seeds you didn’t sow.
Dr. ir Johannes Drooghaag -CEO Spearhead Management