: the quotable brian burke on evaluation :

... I don't usually resonate with abrasive characters, but with Brian Burke it is different, maybe because he is such a straight shooter you can't help but like him? with Burkie there is no BS, no beating-around-the-bush, no political correctness, just the facts, as he sees them. I find it rather refreshing somehow.

So who would have thought that Burke would find his way into a blog post, in a 'blog that at least tries to wrestle with some leadership type things? Here's the quote I am thinking of ... back in 2006, a little over two years ago, he was reflecting on the Pavel Bure trade out of Vancouver. In his own words, he got crucified by Vancouver's fans and media for that, but here's how he looked at it, having attempted to do the right thing, long term, for the franchise's future ...

"people need to evaluate that with a calendar, not a stopwatch"

In a world where ... corporate or social sector, flourishing economy or tanking, 'Type A' personality or not ... the thrust is often immediate results, efficiency over effectiveness, quantifiable, measurable, justifiable ... right here, right now, or else ... taking a page out of Burke's leadership playbook may just be helpful? Take a step back, breathe, look at the horizon, commit to longer term 'results' or developments. When I think of the readers of this 'blog ... I see ministries and leadership and commitment levels that can only be seen in terms of the calendar ... eternal may not be too strong.

Rarely does 'flash-in-the-pan' thinking, or action, or knee-jerk evaluation produce the kind of change really needed. Take a look at the things you have been involved in the last few years ... evaluate them through the lens of a calendar, and see if they don't appear different, deeper, stronger than if you assessed your efforts via a stopwatch. It may be a perspective gaining exercise, and then you can suggest to the stopwatchers in your life what they can do with their ... uh, sorry. Got carried away there.

dlc