We know that guy named Jack strived to be nimble and quick.
But is being nimble a good thing? I believe it just might be the right aspiration for these times.
If it sounds a little weird, hang with me…
Nimble is one of those words that sounds exactly like what it means. And it even feels like a good thing. What do you think?
Nimble [nim-buhl]
adjective, nim·bler, nim·blest.
- quick and light in movement; moving with ease; agile; active; rapid: nimble feet.
- quick to understand, think, devise, etc.: a nimble mind.
- cleverly contrived: a story with a nimble plot.
With possibly the exception of definition number three, why wouldn’t you want to be nimble?
In his recent post, “Toward nimble,” even Seth Godin asks…
Is ‘nimble’ a good thing? Should we seek to be flexible, resilient, and quick to be able to shift and adapt?”
—from Seth’s Blog
So, I believe I’m onto something here.
But pin that for a moment…
Are you ever amused by the new catchy words adopted by companies and big business? And if Seth Godin is using it, business has adopted it.
You’ll find it’s usually the tech firms that feel the need so much they’ll spend gazillions of dinero with the giants of New York advertising just to make a word catchy.
Remember when AT&T and Bell didn’t want to be known as the phone company anymore? We got to learn new, made-up words like Lucent and Verizon. Woo Hoo!
And don’t get me started on all those drug names.
So recently, nimble, the humble little word once used only by kindergarteners reciting nursery rhymes, is now a trendy new aspiration for businesses everywhere… to be nimble.
I’m not making fun either. (Okay, a little bit). You’ve probably heard of agile software development, right? Well, the first thing I thought of when I heard the term was, now there’s an oxymoron.
For the software techies, I’m pretty sure agile is just a fancy way to say ‘do-over.’ Go ahead, check it out here, then tell me it’s anything but another way to say ‘do-over.’
We were on a flight once where the pilot was stuck doing ‘agile.’
The weather was lousy. We would pull back from the gate, get de-iced, then taxi out to the runway. Then we would get called back to the gate only to do-it-over again. And again. And again.
After a few iterations and who knows how long, our captain came on the loudspeaker for a pep talk. I’ll never forget his parting words…
“Be flexible or be miserable. The choice is yours.” — Captain Who? (Wish I had written his name down)
I think today he would advise us to be nimble.
Flexible is still good. Agile comes in handy when you need a do-over. And nimble is a word we can use!
“Be quick and light in movement, with ease. And quick to think and understand…”
Be nimble.
Oh, and be untucked.
p.s. If you’ve read this far, you might enjoy this post too.
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Copyright © 2021 Jeff Meister – All Rights Reserved
Gives a whole new meaning to serpentining correctly!
Good words my friend.
Thanks, Mike… Now that’s one to ponder!
Ohhhh yes. I would benefit from a nimbler life. Couple that with perseverance to push through the inevitable obstacles! I love Elizabeth Aston’s quote: “You can’t jump down the stairs in one leap, however much you might wish to, and you even more surely can’t jump up it, but one step and then the next and there you are, at the top or the bottom and not a bit out of breath or discomposed.” It may be cliche, but one (nimble) step at a time works. As always, thank you for your witty and helpful encouragement!
Ohhhh Laurie, I always appreciate your comments. Especially when they come with one of your great quotes! Yes, one step at a time… Thanks, Laurie!