I read somewhere recently that ‘strategy is what you say no to’. We can’t be all things to all people, and we can’t take advantage of every opportunity that comes along. Time, money, and energy are all limited resources. And so it seems reasonable to not expend any of them moving in a direction we don’t want to go.
That said, it’s also too easy to slip into the habit of ‘just this once’ – and to be seduced by the power of marginal thinking that leads us to take individually justifiable actions in the short term that are in opposition to our longer term interests. After all, no single raindrop believes it is responsible for the flood, right?
This is episode 121 of Music For Small Audiences. It was recorded in the leadup to a trip I’m really looking forward to – a weeklong study exchange in Germany, coming at a very interesting time for future European historians to consider. The mix has been put together as the soundtrack to that multinational voyage, which begins in a few days.