It seems that Yogi Berra was right (that’s the former Yankee player and manager, not the Jellystone Park character on the lookout for a quick meal). 

One of the reasons that so much business writing and advice sounds familiar is that we conveniently keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again, allowing new generations of pundits to dispense similar advice in new packaging. 

In a short piece entitled Learning from Heroes found in the March, 2009 Harvard Business Review, Jack Covert and Todd Satterson suggest that this recurring pattern in business actually mirrors the hero’s journey found in mythology. 

“Like Hercules, Luke Skywalker and Jack Welch, we struggle with five recurring challenges as we journey through work and life.  We wander without knowing where we are going.  Data and circumstances confuse us.  Fear blocks us from acting.  Change paralyzes us. And despite our intentions, we talk more than we listen.”

Interesting.  It sounds like ancient mythology and popular culture teach us that vision is required to provide context and purpose.  Strategy is necessary to pick a path between where we are today and our ultimate destination.  Along the way, we will battle ambiguity; we will struggle to measure progress and we will constantly be challenged to overcome fear.   And just when we get comfortable, something will come along to rock our world and challenge our premises.  Last and most definitely not least, many of us will stumble during our journey because we grow too prideful and prefer to talk, not listen. 

Covert and Satterson are certainly on to something, as the same challenges that bedevil our ancient and contemporary heroes are the challenges that we face in business and as leaders every day and in every generation.

I’m an eternal optimist and believe that individuals can and do overcome the five recurring challenges.  In many respects, this is what the effective leader must do to help his or her team succeed on their journey.

I’m even convinced that armed with purpose and awareness of these challenges, entire organizations are capable of overcoming the seemingly natural human tendencies to wander, wonder, fear and ignore the truth when it conflicts with our view of the world.

If you as leader are wandering and wondering, imagine the plight of your team members.  It’s time to add some vision and sense of journey and purpose back into your work environment.  Oh, and remember to shut up and listen along the way.  

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As an aside, I can’t help but imagine how mythology might have changed if Hercules had access to popular literature, reality tv and coaching and management consulting during his 12 Labors.

He might still be mucking the Augean stables or analyzing his options for slaying the 9-headed Hydra.  And I have no doubt that his labor to obtain the girdle of the Amazon warrior queen Hippolyte would have been snatched up by network television and become a hit reality show.