At the top there are no easy choices (Dean Acheson)

He's Homer Simpson, one of the drones in section 7G

At the top there are no easy choices. All are between evils, the consequences of which are hard to judge (Dean Acheson).

Dean has something there. The thing is, you still have to make those choices, if you are a leader. You can't not act - paralysis by analysis is a real thing.

As a leader, I liked to have time to weigh up pros and cons but I learned that you have to make that decision and you have to live with the consequences. You also, often, don't have much time. So, I did get quicker at it back in the day.

Same thing now I'm back full time in the classroom. Every day - instant decisions and no easy choices.

That's why teachers (drones in section 7G) are so tired at the end of a shift in the brick factory.

Success is achieved by developing our strengths, not by eliminating our weaknesses (Marilyn vos Savant)

Photo by Vicky Sim on Unsplash

That quote caused me to do a double take. When I mulled it over, I could see the truth in Marilyn's statement.

In past interviews, in a former life, I've asked that question. You know the one - adapted to the more modern buzz-speak, "What are your work-ons?", but the intent is the same. In my defense it was designed to gauge self-awareness, more than it was about an applicant's weakness. But it remains a horrible question.

Savant is right - too much is put on eliminating weakness, and not enough in developing strengths!