Tag: Leadership

The BA Practice Lead Handbook 2 – Why Business Analysis? What’s in it for me?

Written by Kathleen B. Hass, PMP on January 15, 2013. Posted in Articles. 1 Comment on The BA Practice Lead Handbook 2 – Why Business Analysis? What’s in it for me?

In the previous article, we discussed the reasons Business Analysis is emerging as a critical business practice for the 21st century. But we sometimes have difficulty explaining the value of Business Analysis; driving an understanding of the WIIFM (What’s in it for me?). So let’s examine what a real BA is, one who is enterprise and strategically focused and who executes strategy, advances enterprise capabilities, and delivers innovative products and services….and what it means for everyone, including:

What’s in it for the CIO?
What’s in it for the Business Manager?
What’s in it for the Technologists?
What’s in it for the Project Manager?

The Value of the Business Analyst

The most important tool in the Business Analysts’ arsenal is the Business Case. The life of every important change initiative begins and ends with a Business Case. Unless a change initiative (project) results in business benefits in terms of value to the customer and/or wealth to the bottom line, it is a failed venture – even if it is delivered on time and on budget. It is in the Business Case that the expected costs and business benefits are outlined. Without it, you are engaged in steering a rudderless vessel. Yet, in far too many projects, a Business Case does not exist. If it does exist, it is often unconvincing and used only to get funding for a project. The value of the Business Analyst is realized through execution and management of the Business Case, and the role of the BA changes subtly throughout the life of the project.

The Enterprise Analyst. Developing what is often referred to as a “brilliant Business Case” is essentially and R&D, creative endeavor. The effort requires adequate time, a skilled facilitator (the Enterprise BA), a strategic focus, and creative expert resources. The effort is driven by the Business Analyst. The Business Case is owned by the Business Analyst; that is to say the Business Analyst authors and maintains the Business Case in collaboration with business and technology thought leaders.

The Project Analyst. Once a project has been approved based on the Business Case, the Business Analyst transitions from the role of Enterprise Analyst to a Project Analyst. Typically, the Business Case is no longer used, since the project is approved, resourced, and funded. However, as the BA elicits detailed business requirements and the solution design emerges, she continues to validate the expected costs and benefits, updates the Business Case and alerts decision makers if the original assumptions and projections are at risk, and recommends a course correction. This validation/update cycle is essential to keep the Business Case alive, and to keep everyone’s focus on the business benefits. Remember, the Business Case is developed when we know the least about the endeavor, so it is no longer valid unless updated as more is learned.

The Business Realization Analyst. After a new solution is deployed, the BA serves as a Business Realization Manager, measuring the value of the new solution, and making improvements and adjustments to the solution or how it is used if the value does not measure up to the original benefit projections.

Business Analysis: What’s in it for the CIO

Why does a CIO care about Business Analysis? What’s in it for him/her? Consider some insight from the Gartner Group, Northwestern University, and DiamondCluster International survey of 130 senior IT executives:

51% Percentage of CIOs with no process to evaluate IT investment against business strategy
68%    Percentage of CIOs who don’t compare actual IT project benefits to original targets
74%    Percentage of CIOs who don’t track financial metrics after making an investment
80%    Percentage of CIOs who say lack of financial skills makes quantifying IT benefits difficult

This revealing study, together with the fact that only 37% of IT projects are successful, costing the economy billions of dollars (see article #1 in this series), make for a very challenging situation for CIOs. And their peers in the boardroom are increasingly demanding return on their IT investments. CEOs have a stunning awareness that many of their very costly IT projects, whether for technology infrastructure upgrades, to implement a new improved business process, or to deploy a new product or service, fail to achieve expected value. Furthermore, they are frustrated and unclear about how to fix the problem.

If the onslaught of Business Analysis practices promise to produce convincing Business Cases, CIOs can finally predict, deliver, and demonstrate real value. All too often Business Cases relying on traditional ROI measures, are often unrealistically high, knowingly or unknowingly low, or simply unconvincing. BAs need to reverse this trend, producing brilliant Business Cases that are convincing and accurate.

So, here is your elevator speech to your CIO: “Many enlightened CIOs are placing their bets on implementation of a world class Business Analysis Practice to finally predict, produce, deliver, and measure expected business benefits.”

Business Analysis: What’s in it for the Business Manager

One strategy used by executives is to put a mid- to senior-level manager in charge of expensive project investments for a department or line of business. So not only is the CIO being held accountable for driving value to the customer and wealth to the bottom line, front line management is also on the hook.
So, here is your elevator speech to your business partner: “Adequate time spent up front on the business case will ensure we develop an innovative solution, and predict, produce, deliver, and measure expected business benefits.”

Business Analysis: What’s in it for the Technologists?

Similarly, CIOs put a mid- to senior-level IT manager in charge of the technology for expensive IT project investments. So not only is the CIO being held accountable for driving value to the customer and wealth to the bottom line, front line IT management is also on the hook.
Assuming the BA partners with the business manager and lead technologist who are on point when creating the Business Case, they will be invaluable in helping keep the focus on the business benefits.

So, here is your elevator speech to your lead technologist: “An experienced BA assigned throughout the project will ensure we develop an innovative solution, and predict, produce, deliver, and measure expected business benefits.”

Business Analysis: What’s in it for the Project Manager

And then there is the project manager (PM). Whether there is a convincing Business Case or not, the PM is expected to drive forward, delivering the solution on time and on budget. The PM cares about cost, but only project cost as opposed to the total cost of ownership of the new solution. PMs generally don’t focus on the cost to operate or maintain the new solution, only on the build or acquisition costs. As a result, project success to PMSs is often determined by measures other than business value.

The BA keeps the focus on the business value expected from the new solution. The BA collaborates with the PM to conduct trade-off analysis and make the tough project decisions. The BA also had her ear to the ground to determine if business needs are changing that might impact the current project objectives.
So, here is your elevator speech to your PM: “It has been estimated that a PM increases the probability of project success by 400% with an exceptional BA on the project.” (BA Benchmark Study, AG Consulting 2008)

Putting it all Together

So what does this mean for the Business Analyst?

If your project does not have a Business Case, pull together a small but mighty team of experts and facilitate them through the development of key Business Case elements. You will need experts who can predict trends, think outside the box, see the big picture, deal with complexity, and help create a strong team. Then, present the Business Case to the business executive and lead technologist who have the most ownership in the success of the project, and ask them if it describes what they are looking for from the project outcomes.

What’s in it for the BA? This will get you noticed as an elite BA, one who is focusing on business value as opposed to requirements management. Look for more about building a convincing Business Case in future articles in this series.

So what does this mean for the BA Practice Lead?

As Practice Lead/BA Manager, your primary focus should be on the capability of your BA team to build brilliant Business Cases. Develop a standard agenda for conducting a Business Case workshop. Insist that your BAs build and maintain Business Cases for all critical projects.

Don’t forget to leave your comments below.

How Business Analysts Can Help Failed Projects Succeed

Written by Jarett Hailes on January 8, 2013. Posted in Articles. 2 Comments on How Business Analysts Can Help Failed Projects Succeed

I recently completed a post-implementation review for an enterprise-wide project I managed that successfully achieved all its objectives. The client was very happy with the results and all stakeholders agreed the project was executed very efficiently and implemented with no negative impact on the organization’s regular operations. The best part? The project had been attempted twice before but had failed and been aborted both times. We were able to overcome the previous failures and deliver essential capabilities needed to prepare the organization for the future.

Overcoming previously failed projects (or ones that are near failure) can be challenging. If a project has been tried before and failed, a negative mindset towards the project can be established that presents a barrier for future success. Some companies may even convince themselves that they don’t really need what the project set out to accomplish. Luckily, business analysts can play an integral role in overcoming these challenges and ensuring the project is successful in its new incarnation. Below are the key areas where BAs can enhance the likelihood of success.

Understand the Reasons for Failure

As the often-used adage goes, “those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” In order to avoid the same fate as the previous failures, you need to understand the reasons why they failed and learn what needs to change in order to succeed. Business analysts can perform root cause analyses on the previous failures and work with the project’s leadership and stakeholders to see what lessons can be learned. This can involve everything from document reviews to conducting interviews and assessing solutions currently in place. Some of the key areas to assess are:

Organizational: Did the project have the wrong people involved on the project from the leadership and the executive sponsor through to the project team’s personnel?
Cultural: Did the organization not have the right attitude towards the project or enough collective belief in its potential to succeed?
Technical: Did the project fail because the wrong technology was selected or built? Did the technology have insufficient capabilities to support what was needed?
Procedural: Did the projects not follow appropriate standards or methodologies to increase their likelihood of success? Were there critical errors in the execution or omission of certain tasks (for example, insufficient communications, ambiguous project planning or improper project change controls)?
Environmental: Was there something that occurred or was present in the organization’s market or political environment that made the project’s success untenable?
Iron Triangle Factors: Were the finances, scope and timelines originally set out reasonable, or were some of these factors inappropriate or too hopeful given other constraints?

Recognize What’s Changed

Once the root causes are identified, the business analyst can develop proposed approaches to avoid, eliminate or address the issues that caused the previous projects to fail. Part of this planning exercise should involve assessing and documenting which of the above factors have changed. For example, personnel changes with key stakeholder areas may have shifted the cultural attitude towards the project. Or perhaps the marketplace has changed and the need to accomplish the project’s objectives is more acute than ever.

For each item where there has been a material change, document whether the change has increased or decreased the likelihood of the project succeeding as well as if the project is now more or less needed as a result. Aggregate these results and use them to assess whether the time is right to go ahead with the project once again. Sometimes, not enough has changed to really improve the project’s chance of success. Provided the business analyst is involved in the new project’s early stages, this should be highlighted to management to help them decide if the project should be undertaken at this time.

Adjust the Framework

Review the scope and objectives of the previous projects and assess what components are still needed today. Where possible, remove items that are no longer necessary or that greatly increase the probability of failure. Some items may be able to be deferred for a future phase once the project has demonstrated that it can achieve some initial successes.

From a business analyst’s perspective, this can entail reviewing requirements, project charters, plans and close-out documents, and organizational strategic plans. The BA may also perform a current state assessment to determine if any of the previous project’s objectives are already met. Based on an assessment of what matters to the organization today, the project team can adjust the framework for the new project to increase the chances of success.

For my recent project, we removed all ‘nice to have’ elements from the scope to focus on the critical components that needed to be completed. This not only reduced the cost and timelines for the project, but also increased the ability for the project team to communicate the vision and nature of the project to the entire organization since the objectives were more concise. This in turn improved awareness and buy-in from all stakeholders.

Win Over Skeptics

Clearly communicating why this project’s outcome will be different than the previous failures will help address the natural tendency to be skeptical about resurrecting a failed project. Ideally, the project can be reframed in the current context so that it can be considered fresh in the minds of key stakeholders, while still demonstrating the lessons from previous failures will be used to make the new project successful. Stories are an excellent way to help convey this message in a simple but effective format.

For a previous project I needed to show the organization’s leadership why they should re-initiate a project after it had failed. I communicated to the organization’s leadership how critical the project was to future high-priority endeavours. There were over 15 initiatives they were interested in pursuing that all depended on the successful implementation of the failed project, which was easily communicated using a hub and spoke diagram. Additionally, the organization’s mandate had begun to shift, which increased the need to ensure the project was tackled again. I used analogies representing their typical customers to show why it was important to get this project completed. These helped the leaders see the need for the project and give it the green light.

Business analysts can also highlight the need for a project on the ground while they are performing their current state assessment. As pain points are identified, stakeholders often begin to realize the need for change.This can be reinforced when the pain points are summarized and communicated to all groups.

Get the Commitment Needed for Success

In order for projects to succeed, all the key players need to be committed to its success. This means that leadership needs to be active and visible throughout the project and are willing to put in the time needed to help guide the project through its lifecycle. Sufficient funding for people and technology needs to be in place as well. The people who will take the project’s outputs and ultimately realize the benefits of the project need to also be committed to working through the process even when challenges arise. Overall, a coalition must be built that will be responsible for working with less enthusiastic stakeholders to keep the project from losing its momentum.

Business analysts play a key role in this aspect throughout the project by maintaining an up-to-date and relevant stakeholder analysis. Sometimes the attitudes, influence and engagement of various stakeholders can change over time. When BAs interact with stakeholders, they can continually update their analysis and work with the project’s leaders to address changes that could negatively impact the project.

Achieving Success Through Business Analysis

Business analysts play a key role in helping previously failed or challenged projects reach the finish line. The ability to understand why something went wrong, what to address from the failure, how to adapt to changing circumstances and how to engage the right people and get them on board are methods that good BAs possess and can leverage in this situation. Instead of fearing a previously failed project, business analysts can look at the opportunity to use their skills to ultimately bring the project to a successful close.

Don’t forget to leave your comments below.

BA Practice Lead Handbook 1 – Why is Business Analysis taking the World by Storm?

Written by Kathleen B. Hass, PMP on December 11, 2012. Posted in Articles.

The articles in this series are focused on individual Business Analysts and their managers.

Global and Local Challenges

Businesses are faced with unprecedented challenges.

The Integrated Economy

Everyone is feeling the effects of the global integrated economy, and Business Analysts (BAs) are no exception. Many jobs are becoming commoditized, by that I mean they can be performed by internal resources, contractors, or even outsourced resources located anywhere across the globe. Global wage scales have made U.S. employees too expensive to perform standard, repetitive tasks. Many U.S. jobs are gone and not coming back. For these reasons, basic BA tasks are often outsourced or performed by contractors.

Information Technology

IT applications have also impacted U.S. jobs by automating repetitive activities, often increasing the quality and predictability of outcomes. In addition, many IT applications have fundamentally changed the way we live, work, and play. The repetitive BA tasks are now being automated through the use of integrated requirements management tools, thus freeing the BA for higher-level activities.

Social Media and Hyper-Connectivity

Social media has connected us all in obvious and subtle ways, some of which we don’t yet fully understand. As we saw across the Middle East, people are using social media to bring about major changes to social and political systems. BAs are using social media to enhance collaboration among key stakeholders.

Innovation vs. Business as Usual

The call to action for today’s businesses is ‘innovate or evaporate’. For businesses to be competitive, they must be first to market with innovative, leading-edge products and services. It is no longer enough for BAs to ask their business partners what they want or need. BAs must learn to foster creativity and innovation during their requirements sessions.

Business Value Realization

Businesses cannot afford to waste project investments or precious resource time unless there are significant business benefits in terms of value to the customer and wealth to the bottom line. Enterprise BAs understand the business, their value proposition, and focus on value throughout the project.

37% Project Success Rate

With business success riding on innovation and first-to-market speed, we must be able to deliver on project commitments However, according to the CHAOS Report 2011 by the Standish Group, business change initiatives that rely heavily on IT are only 37% successful, as measured by on time, on budget, and with the full scope of functions and features. What is the cost of the other 63%, the failed and challenged projects? According to Roger Sessions, the cost is USD 1.22 trillion/year in the US, and USD 500 billion/month Worldwide. So project success equates to global competitiveness and financial stability.

“If we could solve the problem of IT failure, the US could increase GDP by USD 1 trillion/yr. “
Roger Sessions, Simple Architectures for Complex Enterprises

Complexity

All of these forces are influenced by the enormous level of complexity that exists at all levels, globally, nationally, locally, and within projects. With complexity comes dynamic, unpredictable, adaptive change. Since projects are complex adaptive systems operating within a complex environment, typical plan-based project practices are ineffective when attempting to bring about speed and innovation.

Enter Business Analysis: Changing the way we do Projects

So what does all this have to do with Business Analysis? The root cause of our dismal project performance is twofold: gaps in Enterprise Business Analysis and Complex Project Management. Both of these disciplines are emerging to address our 21st century challenges. Complex Project Management will be addressed in future articles. In this article we define the need for and the elements of Enterprise Business Analysis.

What is Enterprise Business Analysis?

Enterprise Business Analysis focuses on strategy, enterprise capabilities, and innovative products and services. It is very different from what we think of as Requirements Analysis, or typical Business Analysis defining and managing requirements. Enterprise Business Analysis demands different BA practices, those that are more mature and focused on adaptive change and innovation. Higher BA maturity levels are directly correlated to more effective business alignment of projects, higher quality business solutions, increased customer satisfaction, increased creativity and innovation, and an increase in the business benefits that result from implementation of new business solutions. Consider the following BA Practice Maturity Model.

Most of us think of Business Analysis as the capabilities needed to successfully manage requirements at Level 2, the project level. To succeed at this level, a basic BA Framework needs to be in place, containing all the elements listed above for Level 2. And remember, we are only successful 37% of the time at project execution. And we don’t even measure business benefits. Enterprise Business Analysis involves capabilities at Levels 3 and 4. The BA practices required for each level are described in more detail below.

Putting it all Together

What does this mean for the Business Analyst?

Traditional BA note-taking jobs are being outsourced, and are not coming back. BA tools are growing up, and typical BA tasks are being automated and commoditized. BAs will no longer be “documenters”. BAs will focus on strategy and innovation vs. business as usual; leadership vs. requirements management.

How are we doing transitioning to Enterprise Business Analysts? Unfortunately companies can’t find the BAs they need. According to Tom Friedman, author of That Used to be Us, companies are looking for critical thinking, the ability to:

Adapt, invent, and re-invent
Collaborate, create, and innovate
Leverage complexity to compete

So, work with your organizations to adopt a mature tool that supports the BA of the future. Become expert at collaboration, creativity, innovation, and value realization. Then, you will truly be a vital asset to your organization.

What does this mean for the BA Practice Lead?

For the BA manager, the implications are pretty obvious. Take these steps immediately to begin to build your BA team of the future.

1. Make it a priority to acquire and implement an integrated requirements management tool with a knowledge repository. Sophisticated BA tools are finally available. They provide support in so many ways:

- Educate your BAs on leading BA practices
- Prompt BAs on the questions to ask
- Forward engineer BA deliverables into commonly used desktop tools
- Keep all BA artifacts up to date and in sync so they are accurate and can be reused
- Free your BAs from being buried in documentation creation and maintenance

2. Build an Enterprise BA corps consisting of individuals who possess higher-level thinking capabilities. Look for BAs who:

- Thrive when dealing with ambiguity and complexity
- Build strong, high-performing teams
- Ignite creativity and innovation
- Experiment, learns, experiments more
- Predict trends
- Think outside the box
- See the big picture
- Have credibility and influence

Don’t forget to leave your comments below.

Tap into the Power of Thanks

Written by Todd Patkin on November 27, 2012. Posted in Articles. 2 Comments on Tap into the Power of Thanks

Six Effective (and Affordable) Ways to Improve Your Organization’s Morale, Motivation, and the Bottom Line

In so many organizations, employees go through their days assuming that their coworkers, and especially their bosses, don’t notice or appreciate all of the hard work that they do. And if that’s the way they feel, employees won’t have any true motivation or dedication, and productivity will be mediocre at best.

In the midst of an already-tough economy, this is the absolute last thing you want for your organization. In a very real way, tapping into the spirit of Thanksgiving can tip the balance between success and growth and stagnation and failure.

If you’re a leader who wants to harness the power of thanks (or even an employee who wants to start a grassroots movement), read on for six how-to tips:

Always say “thank you.” By taking a few seconds out of your day, you will improve another person’s mood, day, and productivity level. You’ll also be making yourself more approachable and likeable, and over time your team will begin to relate to you more positively. Actually, I have found that consistent and heartfelt recognition—when it is deserved, of course—is a better long-term motivator than money.

Take intent into account. I often tried to show my employees just how much I appreciated them by sending high achievers to sports games, highlighting various employees in company newsletters, planning company parties, etc. Sometimes those plans were well received; other times they weren’t.

Inevitably, there will always be someone who says, “Gosh, the food at this party tastes horrible,” for example. I’m bringing this up because you need to remember that despite negative feedback, showing gratitude is always the right thing…and the majority of non-complainers probably loved your gesture.

Start being more open. If you’re a leader, constructively tell your people how they can improve their performances. If you’re a team member, be proactive about asking your coworkers and boss how you’re doing and how you can get better at your job. And no matter what your position is, learn how to receive constructive criticism.

Showing others that you care enough to either help them or to improve yourself is a form of gratitude, because you’re demonstrating that your team is worth the investment of your time, energy, and advice.

Learn to graciously accept thanks. How you respond to appreciation is also important. If you brush off compliments or ignore expressions of gratitude—even if it’s because you’d rather stay out of the spotlight—you’ll eventually stop hearing “thanks!” altogether, and you’ll be discouraging the person complimenting you from reaching out to others in the same way. Whenever someone thanks you or notices something positive about you, try to truly engage with them and let them know that their words have been meaningful.

Keep the gratitude going outside of your organization. Thank your customers or the people you serve for choosing your organization, and for trusting your team with their money, health, products, or publicity, to name a few examples. This is something that many clients don’t hear, so when they do, their loyalty to your company is strengthened. You might also consider offering discounts, coupons, or promotions to show customer appreciation.

Use gratitude to reinforce stellar performances. Using gratitude to shape your team’s habits and priorities can be every bit as valuable as training programs and industry conferences…at a fraction of the time and cost.

Whenever I saw an employee going out of her way to make sure that the product a client purchased was the best possible value, I thanked her for doing it. If a store manager made a mistake and came clean to me about it, I thanked him for that, too. Never forget that whatever you acknowledge positively will be repeated.

Throughout my years of leadership, I became more and more amazed by just how strong the power of thanks really is. Gratitude is an amazing motivator, it strengthens employee and customer loyalty, and it really can allow you to see a positive change in your company’s bottom line. And especially in today’s not-so-stellar economic environment, it’s extra-important to give your people something to be positive about and thankful for.

Don’t forget to leave comments below.

What is Courage?

Written by Andrea Brockmeier on October 30, 2012. Posted in Articles. 1 Comment on What is Courage?

The Quiet. The Unknown. The Courageous

The ability to influence others is a requisite skill for any project professional. It sure would be handy to be able to march around and dictate that people do this or that, but the fact is, when team members tell us “You’re not the boss of me,” more often than not, they’re right.

Unfortunately, influencing is one of those soft skills that doesn’t come naturally or easily for many of us.

In their new book, The Influencing Formula: How to Become a Trusted Advisor and Influence Without Authority, authors Elizabeth Larson and Richard Larson describe a “formula” for how to influence:

I = T + P * C
where
Influence = Trust + Preparation * Courage

They explain how influencing requires developing relationships in order to build trust, preparing to interact with others to change their thoughts, actions or feelings, and courage to try to influence others when they may not agree with you.

This certainly speaks to business analysts and project managers. We need things from people who often don’t report to us, or may be superior to us, or may not see our projects as worthy of support. Considerable time is spent dissecting and defining these elements. Of the three, it’s the courage piece that leads to the most challenging discussions with students.

What is courage?

As noted in their book, the Larsons observe that courage has always been a dominant theme in literature and movies, from the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz, to the Gryffindors in the Harry Potter series. Putting oneself in harm’s way to do what is right is an act we admire and see as courageous.

As they go on to explain, courage doesn’t necessarily involve the possibility of physical danger. In the classic To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch demonstrates moral courage in his opposition to racism in the American South in the 1930s. Note the Larsons, “Seen through the eyes of his young daughter, Scout, Finch shows courage throughout the novel: ‘I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.’”

When discussing what courage means in class, these types of examples come up and all coalesce into a generally agreed upon definition: The ability to face danger even when afraid in order to do what’s right.

It’s the “what is right” piece where I get stuck. As my very savvy students are quick to point out, what’s right to me may not be right to you. We get into this ultra-relativistic place where anyone who takes a risk for what they believe is right can be considered courageous.

Who, then, are the examples of courage? MLK? JFK? A military official who leads others into battle to win a war against tyranny? A candidate for political office who takes an unpopular stand on an issue about which they are passionate? A project manager who makes a tough call on scope change knowing it may alienate a key stakeholder?

To be sure, courage is the willingness to face danger or risk. But what did any of those examples expect to gain? Fame? Fortune? Wealth? A promotion? Does it matter?

I think it does.

Courage needs to be defined both by what one has to lose as well as by what one expects to gain. Yes, courage involves facing risks to do what is believed to be right, but it also includes doing so when the only thing that’s certain to be gained is the ability to look at yourself in the mirror when it’s over and say “I did the right thing.”

To do something utterly brave and take huge risks when the likely outcome will bring fame, wealth, or prestige may take a lot of guts, but not courage. It makes someone a risk-taker, but not courageous.

To say what others are afraid to say or do what others are afraid to do because you know it’s the right thing, knowing that it will likely bring privilege, celebrity, or fortune, may make someone a great motivator or leader, but it doesn’t make them an example of courage.

So who are the truly courageous? Does this definition make the list unreasonably short?

The list is plenty long, but it includes fewer names that are familiar and many more that will never be mentioned by those who didn’t know them or written in the pages of any book. Most of the truly courageous are the people who take risks, go out on a limb, and say what others are afraid to say without an audience, stage, or crowd to cheer them on or watch with anticipation to see how things turn out.

This is not to say that good fortune may not land on their doorstep after a courageous act. Indeed, they may be celebrated, admired, or emulated. They may inspire parades in the streets and holidays may be named in their honor.

But the greatest act of courage is one in which the only anticipated reward before going into battle, conflict, or danger is the satisfaction of knowing that what you are doing is right.

So the next time I find myself soliciting a list of examples of courage and it seems that every risk-taker or person who ever put themselves in harm’s way for what they perceived as right makes the list, I will apply a two-part litmus test: What did they have to lose, and what did they expect to gain? I suspect that will cull the list considerably.

Don’t forget to leave comments below.