My 5 year old had something to tell me. He was interrupting us, so we asked him to wait. “But it’s important!” “Just let Mom and Dad finish.” “But it’s really really important!” He’s now literally hopping up and down, pulling at my shirt and I am annoyed. “What is it?” I snap. “Where will I stand in the school picture tomorrow?”

My kids have a significant ability to fixate on things just like their father. Too often I fall into the trap of being clear on what I want to happen or some information I need and for whatever reason it consumes my world. I become my 5 year old jumping up and down annoying other people.

But I know this is not just me. I see it all the time in change projects where we become tunnel visioned on accomplishing a task that we lose sight of the broader view.

In order to create change there is an element of ‘pushing’ that is required, but knowing when to stop or at least pause is critical. Annoying people may help in the short term, but it is unlikely to be a successful long term strategy.