Lost in the civilization…

I shuffled my feet slightly, made a half-hearted attempt to get up. Then sunk back into the comfortable lounge chair and listlessly surveyed the surroundings, yet again. On my front was the deserted “Flight Check-in” counter. On the far right, I could glimpse greenly lit “National Car Rental” counter. On the left was an exit sign broadcasting “Taxis and Ground Transportation”. That was pretty much it. Asheville airport, nestled in the foothills of Great Smokey Mountains, is a surprisingly tiny airport.

Three simple options, yet I had a directionless predicament. The call between the three directions was inevitable; I knew that. But where had the quick-decisive CEO disappeared, I didn’t know that. The decisive point was irrelevant anyways, there were 6 bags to carry… how will I manage? I turned towards my glum-faced companion; he didn’t seem to be in a mood to lend a helping hand. And even if he did, there were way too many bags between the two of us. So it was official now. We were rendered immobile until the other two members of our party returned. ‘But why in heaven’s name are they taking so long’ as I nagged myself for the zillionth time—the terminal’s automatic doors unzipped, and the rest of our party came barging in. We jumped out of our lounge chairs in full attention…

em>Nature ordains that the days of our lives oscillate nonstop between order and chaos. Further, the wise men proclaim that if we were to reflect on the origins of “chaos” during our “orderly” phases, we stand a better chance of ensuring a smoother future. I can’t speak for the universal applicability of this proclamation, but with respect to my aforementioned mess, I eventually did end up picking a few precious management lessons in the art of delegation!  However, before we jump into the lessons, we need to rewind our story back to the trigger that landed me in the mess. So what do you think let the mess out: a) Bad weather; b) Broken car; c) Misplaced document; d) Sick traveler; or e) Poor time management?