Chapter 4

The 21st Century Compass: Creating a Dominant Focus

The Compass and Its Magnetic Pull

Imagine this: A person dressed a lot like you approaches you on a busy street. He or she grabs your hand, opens it, and puts a device resembling a timepiece face down in your palm. You flip it over and realize it’s actually a compass. The person says, “Follow this, and you will connect with your dominant focus in life.”

“My dominant what?” you say, utterly confused.

Most people are aware that a compass is a simple device consisting of a small, lightweight magnet balanced on almost frictionless pivot point. It obeys the natural laws that were true thousands of years ago, and will remain true thousands of years from today. As such, the compass remains a timeless symbol for the opportunity to choose the direction and the purpose to which we magnetically connect in life.

After looking a bit more closely, you notice a few strange things about the compass; it has no directional markings, and its needle is missing. It also has no signs for North, South, East, or West. Now you’re a bit mystified. You wonder, Why did this person give this compass to me? After all, I’m not looking for directions.

Hopefully, though, as a Z&C Leader, your thought process wouldn’t end there. Instead, we’d like to think this kind of experience would bring you back to where you began to aspire to some special outcome for your life—the place where you first said, “I want to be in a better place than where I presently ...

Get Zebras and Cheetahs: Look Different and Stay Agile to Survive the Business Jungle now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.