Lessons From a Missed Bus
I’m lucky to live in an area with a pretty decent public transit system and make copious use of it. One thing I’ve noticed is that invariably there’s at least one person who misses the bus. Huffing and puffing, running like mad to the bus stop only to be left behind.
But this one morning was different. A teenager, being dropped off by his dad, missed the bus by just seconds. His dad must of noticed because he and the boy were soon tearing beside the bus in the car, hoping to get ahead to the next stop. Ahead they did get, but to no avail as the boy took too long getting out of the car and the bus drove on, with the boy still standing on the sidewalk. Well once again the chase was on. The father zipped in and out of lanes to race ahead of the bus. Finally, bringing the car to a rest on the sidewalk just past the next bus stop, the lad jumped out and made it onto the bus. A shame, however, that the father chose that moment to step out of his precariously parked car, because the bus was again pulling out and the result was the car door being sheered off.
Every day I see people leaping into lanes of traffic, hurtling down flights of stairs and risking life and limb to catch the bus or subway. Yet another one will be coming along in just a minute or two. My own preference is to move to the bus stop at my own speed. While others kill themselves to jockeying for a position on an already crowded vehicle, I’m waiting first in line for the next one to come. Less stress to me and a more comfortable ride as I invariably get my choice of seats.
Many businesses are slow to catch the latest and then flock in a herd of ‘also-rans’ trying to get the first mover advantage that’s already slipped past them. So maybe you were late to the world wide web. So maybe you missed blogging. Maybe podcasting is whizzing past you at this very moment and vidcasting, widgets or social networks are not even on your radar. Stop running off half-cocked to catch the wave that’s passed you by, because maybe the trick is to look at what the next wave is and be ready for it when it comes.
January 24th, 2007 at 10:48 am
Technological developments and trends come and go, just like fashion. I don’t worry about trying to keep up with the very latest in everything. I prefer to concentrate on delivering quality in my writing and editing business. No matter the medium or how it’s delivered, the content has to be good, accurate and effective. And that remains the same no matter whatever else passes by. Quality endures.