Reach Higher

Recently I attended a meeting where the speaker asked everyone in attendance to put

both hands in the air as high as you can. After he was sure that all of those in attendance had raised their hands, he quietly said, "Now reach higher." Everyone in the group was able to reach higher.

I think this is a great metaphor for what business is asking from today's workforce. In an effort to keep up with an ever-changing competetive landscape, meet the demands of new regulation, or create a culture to attract the best employees, the need for you and I to reach higher has never been greater.

The one thing that the speaker did not ask his audience to do was to keep our hands raised high in the air. I can only imagine how quickly I would have become tired and needed to put my arms down because what was being asked could not be sustained. Unfortunately, in business, the workforce can't put their arms down, and if they do, the results can be disasterous.