The Clarity Principle: How Great Leaders Make the Most Important Decision in Business (and What Happens When They Don't)

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The Murky Middle

Homer’s Odyssey tells the story of the Greek hero Odysseus making his ten-year journey home from the Trojan War to Ithaca, where his legendarily patient wife Penelope awaited his return. En route, Odysseus must pass by two great sea monsters flanking the Strait of Messina, between what is now Sicily and southern Italy. The first of the two monsters, Scylla, has six heads and twelve feet; it feeds on careless sailors who pass too closely. On the other side, rooted in the sea floor, is the monster Charybdis, whose gaping aperture causes whirlpools that swallow ships whole. The middle way being too narrow to pass without coming within range of one of the monsters, Odysseus faced the dilemma of choosing the “least worst option.” ...