So many organizations have retreats at which their personnel get energized by motivational speakers and their senior leadership enjoy each other’s company while dreaming, articulating visions, and immersing themselves in strategic planning. And yes, their board of directors are excited enough to commit the financial resources necessary to transform the organization into tomorrow’s paragon of excellence and innovation.
When the retreat is over… everyone returns home and sadly nothing changes. Line workers’ morale returns to pre-retreat levels of cynicism. Senior leadership gets distracted by urgent and immediate challenges and neglects the important and long-term goals. And of course, the members of the board of directors rightly argue for fiscal responsibility. As we said – nothing changes.
This is an all-too-frequent occurrence. Why is there so little to show from all these successful business retreats? Why do dreams not become plans and why do strategic ideas rarely get implemented? Why do genuinely inspired people fail to act and turn that inspiration into the energy of change?
This problem is not limited to businesses and governmental departments. Many yeshivot host seminars and Shabbatonim that truly inspire their students. However, schools are often disappointed when students demonstrate no permanent growth once they return to their daily routine.
Former Secretary of Defense, Robert M. Gates, in his new book, A Passion For Leadership: Lessons on Change and Reform From Fifty Years of Public Service (2016), writes: “Too often, especially in the public sector, a leader comes in with a bold agenda for change, gives a powerful speech, and then… Nothing. There is no plan, no strategy for implementation” (p.39). Cognizant of this problem Gates offers some suggestions for leaders to follow in order to avoid these pitfalls and move their agendas forward.
Among his ideas are to ensure that a multiplicity of opinions and perspectives are heard regarding proposed changes. But at the same time, a leader must guard against what is known as “paralysis by analysis.” To this end Gates argues that deadlines are critical. “If I were limited to just one suggestion for implementing change in a bureaucracy, it would be to impose short deadlines on virtually every endeavor, deadlines that are enforced. Sometimes brief extensions are justified, but a leader should make them rare and make sure there is ample justification” (p.90). And finally, a leader must ensure that the decisions for change are implemented. A leader must constantly follow up to ensure that his people are following through.
Aware of the challenge of turning inspired dreams into mundane reality, the Torah gives us some instructive guidance at the beginning of this week’s parsha where Moshe Rabbeinu is instructed to assemble Bnei Yisrael. Rashi comments (35:1) that this assembly took place on the morning after Yom HaKippurim. Although every Yom Kippur is a special experience, this one was especially remarkable as Bnei Yisrael had been forgiven for the sin of the Golden Calf. We can hardly imagine the level of excitement Bnei Yisrael attained that year. The inspiration they received, to use a contemporary phrase, was “off the charts.” Yet Moshe feared that even these lofty heights would prove ephemeral if not acted upon immediately.
Various insights from this assemblage serve as guidelines for what we can do to follow up on our own inspiring and energizing moments and turn the “moment into momentum.” The first lesson is to realize the importance of unity and forging unity. According to Chazal, Moshe called the assembly to teach Bnei Yisrael the laws of Shabbat and building the Mishkan. The mere fact that Bnei Yisrael gathered for a common purpose underscored the importance of continuing the unity experienced the previous day on Yom Kippur.