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Wally Bock's Supervisory Leadership Tips The Law of Bells
Supervisory leadership decisions come in a variety of sizes and shapes. They cover a wide range of topics. But they all conform to the Law of Bells: "You can't un-ring a bell."
Until we find a way to reverse time and go back and cover our mistakes, that law should be in your mind for every decision you make. Every time you make a decision, you set a precedent. Another way to say that is that you ring a bell.
You can't take back a decision. You have to live with your decision - and the results of your decision - for the rest of your life. It becomes part of your life and your organization's history. That's why it's futile to waste a lot of time thinking about what would have happened had you rung a different bell, made your decision differently.
This is the part where we go back again to a basic principle of being a boss. You have to be realistic about the current situation. That current situation has been shaped by your decisions and by outside forces. None of those things can be undone. You are where you are, and you need to go forward from here.
You also need to be optimistic about the future and where you're going. The future is influenced by the decisions you make and the actions you take. Whatever you do today shapes the future.
It's worth going back here to something said by the greatest of all management gurus, Peter Drucker. He said, "Planning is not about future decisions. It's about the futurity of present decisions."
Make your decisions boldly, but remember, you can't un-ring a bell.
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