Houston, The Eagle Has Meandered
Image courtesy of Flickr user NASA Goddard Photo and Video
HOUSTON: “Eagle, Houston. You’re a go for landing.”
EAGLE: “Houston, Eagle. Roger that. We’re heading for Tranquility Base.”
EAGLE: “Um, Houston?”
HOUSTON: “Go, Eagle.”
EAGLE: “What’s that dark, flat area over there on the left?”
HOUSTON: “Eagle, it’s another ‘sea’. Don’t worry about it, though, Tranquility Base is at your 12 o’clock.”
EAGLE: “Okay … but why aren’t we checking out that other sea?”
HOUSTON: “Because it didn’t meet any of the mission parameters set before you ever launched. It might work for a future mission but it’s not the landing spot for you.”
EAGLE: “Can we go take a look at it anyway?”
HOUSTON: “Eagle, you don’t have the fuel to drift over there and besides, you won’t be able to complete any of your mission objectives there. We already researched this before you left. Focus on the parameters we set – you were at the meetings, after all, and go for Tranquility Base.”
EAGLE: “Gotcha, Houston.”
EAGLE: “Um, Houston?”
HOUSTON: “Dear God. Go, Eagle.”
EAGLE: “There are some interesting looking boulders at our 4 o’clock. Maybe we’ll go check those out.”
HOUSTON: “Look, Eagle. Don’t go looking at the frapping* boulders (*actual Apollo profanity.) Stick to your mission.”
EAGLE: “But Houston, we’re only going to be on the moon a day or two. We owe it to ourselves to make sure we’ve seen all that there is to see while we’re here.”
HOUSTON: “Really? How about you fly onto the other side of the moon and land in a crater, see if you get home.”
EAGLE: “Calm down, Houston.”
HOUSTON: “Then knock it off. We discussed this. You have a specific mission. Focus on that mission. You’re getting distracted by these other things like a 5-year-old soccer player chasing ladybugs. STICK TO THE MISSION!!”
EAGLE: “Okay, Houston. You’re right. We’ll follow the original plan and only look at Tranquility Base since that was the area that met all of our objectives.”
HOUSTON: “Thank you, Eagle.”
EAGLE: “And Houston?”
HOUSTON: “Yes, Eagle?”
EAGLE: “That red dot in the sky … is that Mars?”
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When you’re working with clients, remember that you’re the professional. If you let your client get distracted by every for sale sign they see, how are you ever going to get them to focus on the mission at hand?
Tags: focus