Baby Steps. . .Baby Steps

In the movie What About Bob, Bill Murray plays the highly dependent, annoying, and obsessive-compulsive Bob Wiley.  To help Bob work through his fears his doctor, Dr. Leo Marvin (played by Richard Dreyfuss) teaches him about baby steps.  I keep picturing Bob getting out of the elevator repeating over and over "baby steps, baby steps, baby steps, baby steps. . ." while he takes these very tiny baby steps to move forward.

I was thinking about that this morning as I thought about running.  I used to love to run back when it was easy for me.  Now, it gets harder - I'm older, heavier, and my joints and energy just don't hold up like they used to.  To be honest, those are excuses, they aren't the real problem.  The real problem I have is that I want to start where it was easy for me - where I'm gliding along effortlessly, experiencing the runner's high, going as far and as long as I choose.

But we all know that's not going to happen, is it?  It takes baby steps. . .like getting up a little earlier, setting my stuff out the night before, lacing up the ol' tennie-runners and heading out the door putting one foot in front of the other.  It takes healthier eating, sweating and fighting through the temptation to quit.  It takes time and work and. . .it's a process of baby steps.

Your leadership is like that as well.  I know, because I often want to get to the finished product without going through the process.  I want the desired outcome without working through the tweaking, the relationships, the struggles, the criticism, and whatever else I have to go through to get to the end.  It's about baby steps.

Baby steps are critical in  our leadership.  They allow for buy in from your team, shareholders, family, or members.  Baby steps allow for mid-course adjustments that help the product become productive and effective.  Baby steps helps those who struggle with change to process and work through the change.  Baby steps allows you to lead rather than dictate.

I know there are times as a leader that you must make a decision that doesn't or shouldn't need buy in - what's for dinner, meeting times, priorities, etc.  But for the most part, when you and I are designing a new system, process, or product we need to take baby steps until it's up and running or out the door to the customer.  Even then, there may be a few more baby steps that need to take place - feedback, evaluation, and more tweaking.

Remember, baby steps. . .baby steps. . .baby steps.

Where do you need to slow things down and take baby steps?


Where do you need to get buy in and who's buy in to  do need?


Where do you need to make a mid-course adjustment?


Where do you need to allow someone work through the change?


Mike