The Butterfly Effect

How many of you have heard this term?

The truth is, I could go into where the term came from (Ray Bradbury referenced the concept, though not necessarily the name, back in the late fifties and early sixties, for example), but I want to keep this concise.

Essentially, the "butterfly effect" is the concept that a single flap of the butterfly's wing sets a certain amount of energy in motion that determines future events - like knocking over a single domino starts a chain. Fascinating when you think about it, particularly in the realm of science fiction (think about Marty McFly in "Back to the Future", and the endless hijinks created when he tried to avoid affecting his own future...). But really, the butterfly effect can be applied to ourselves, in a much more real and far less fantastical way...

You see, every action that we make sets in motion a series of events - and this is never truer than when we're leading. As role models, or people whom others are looking at for an example, we have to be constantly aware of this butterfly effect - what we say and do, by and large, determines what is still yet to happen. However, the more aware of it we are, the more we can trace a current situation back and, more importantly, the better we can control it and thereby direct the future events.

Need a real world example? Let's say Jimmy Newcoach has just started at this great gym, "Innovative Workout". This is a great place, with a long history and amazing potential - and currently, things are going great. However, the owners have just hired Billy Jackass as the manager - had great references, and outstanding credentials, so why not? Well, time passes, and Jimmy watches Billy talk only to certain customers - and half of those people, he makes fun of when he's back in the lunchroom. The esteemed manager doesn't train for events (because he's "busy"), complains about having to do those events because they're not his "thing", and makes sure that the facility's cleaned and stocked only by getting his coaches to do it. To make matters worse, Jimmy watches Billy walk past a full towel bin and an empty towel rack, leave garbage on the floor, and never clean up his equipment.

What kind of trainer do you think Jimmy Newcoach is going to be? Furthermore, how long do you think the facility is going to keep operating at a high level?

Okay, so we would hope that we never see someone like Billy Jackass running an Innovative Fitness, because this has a predictable outcome. But step back, and imagine Billy is the ideal in every way - but won't do events. Or clean up after himself... or utilize the company's alliances...

Like the flap of a butterfly's wing, doing (or not doing) even one of these things can have a long reaching effect. At the very least, it can undermine credibility, but at worse, it can actually begin to hamper business.

Look back on your day, and consider if you were the ideal you are asking others to strive for. Really, it doesn't matter if you've got a "good reason" - in the end, you MUST lead others by example, not by words.

After all, who wants to be a Jackass?

~Guy