justplainbil

Just Plain Bill

“Give me a lever long enough…”

Archimedes has been credited with saying, “Give me a place to stand and I will move the Earth”, also translated as “Give me a place to stand and rest my lever on, and I can move the Earth.”  While the wording is somewhat different, the intent is the same, meaning – that provided the necessary resources and opportunity, one individual can change things in a major way.

Through the 2,300 hundred years since that quote from around 212 B.C., the saying was also translated later as “Give me a lever long enough, and single-handedly, I can move the world”, a phrase used in a multi-day leadership program I developed and facilitated: Leveraging Human Assets, or LHA.

The seminar included a variety of team activities requiring collaboration to solve work-related tasks and issues, complete with many competitive activities that engendered trust, while challenging assumptions, titles, and comfortable roles.

The culminating activity required participants to create an action plan establishing the value and financial impact of the five days of work. Over the eight years the program took place, the average positive financial impact stated by the managers was over one million dollars for each participant, in addition to significant efficiencies each would ultimately contribute to the company’s operations.

I personally believe in Archimedes’ statement. As I continue on my journey as a performance coach and cheerleader, I will refer back to it and recite it often while striving to maximize the capacity and increase the potential in all my students and clients.