Do You Want to be a Headline or a History-Maker?

Today’s headlines and history’s judgment are rarely the same.  If you are too attentive to the former, you will most certainly not do the hard work of securing the latter.”  Condoleezza Rice from No Higher Honor

Sometimes I long for an age where a leader’s bad day or poor decision doesn’t become instant twitter chatter or prime time news.

I wonder if because of the immediacy of praise or criticism, we make decisions for the short term rather than the long haul?

What if today’s unpopular decisions are actually heroic when history retells the story?

I repeatedly challenge myself with the thought, “an uncomfortable decision today may save me from making a very painful decision in the future.”

What if you didn’t feel the pressure of the immediate press or popularity?  How would it affect your decision making?

Do you want to be a headline or a history-maker?

 

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One comment

  • Doug September 27, 2012  

    great thoughts, Jenni. and I agree the immediacy of praise and criticism cause decisions to be more focussed on the moment at hand.
    i’m happy to think about the decisions I make and how they affect the future. fortunately, in the moment, my decisions affect me and are not under scrutiny by the world. However, this is a great lesson to learn before I find myself in the position of a positional leader that has the need to be concerned about both the immediate and the future.
    and to answer your Q, I want to be a history-maker.