Wisdom from a Great Man

I attended a luncheon today to hear one of the icons of Columbus, Harrison Smith, speak.  He is an attorney who has participated in all of the important real estate developments that have helped to make Columbus a really wonderful place to live.  Harrison is quite old and has inoperable cancer, and today was most likely one of the last times he will make a public appearance.

As a resident of Columbus I enjoyed hearing the “real” behind the scenes stories about how things have happened here – at this stage in his life, Smith has little to lose by including us all in some of his secrets.  But I also loved hearing this incredibly successful and influential man talk about his views on getting things done.

Smith does not like zoning, county commissioners, and government interference.  He says about government “I’ve never understood how growing the problem bigger makes it better.”  This is not only true in civic development but in health care.  I am positive that increasing government involvement in health care will make things worse instead of better.

He also does not like plans.  Instead he says, “Just do something and do it well.  Then go on and do the next thing well.”  He said that he learned most by jumping into projects and learning as they unfolded, rather than trying to pre-determine and plan everything.  This has certainly been the case in my business.  We have never had a business plan, and still do not today.  We have a vision; we make lists of things to do that will help us to accomplish that vision, and we learn a lot by doing.   I could never have visualized the Wellness Forum as it exists today, and don’t think anyone could have written a plan that would have gotten us to this place.  In fact, a detailed plan may just have kept us from getting anything done.

We all like to listen to people with whom we agree, and I am sure that this was a factor in my enjoying Harrison’s comments.  But Harrison has been outrageously successful during his career, which makes his comments hard to ignore.

What does this have to do with everyday life?  Stop thinking, planning and strategizing about your health, your business and your life and just do something.  My father used to say, “Do something even if it’s wrong.  You’ll find out soon enough!”  How true!