If you are a leader who has been a client of mine or simply attended a workshop or talk I have given, you will likely be smiling to see this image from Sketchplanations as I use the “what if you were hit by a bus” analogy often.
it is a pretty obvious way to have people consider such things as redundancy and resilience around key individuals. Why use an analogy though? One reason I use it is that it lands with less of a personal impact, so can be received with far less resistance.
Imagine, instead, that I asked a CEO of a £10mm revenue business that they have led since inception:
“So, why is your business still dependent on you to make every major decision? Why are you holding your business and people back that way?”
It is empirically true that a failure to delegate holds back a business (and the people in it) from growing and developing, as well as holding back the business from growing, as well as the obvious resilience and lack of redundancy risks. However, many CEOs (particularly founders) are very attached to their “baby”, the business they have put their heart and soul into. They may not recognise that their need to control so much of it is a negative constraint.
So, I will say instead “Ms CEO, I’m intrigued. What would happen to your business tomorrow, next week, next month, next year.. if you were hit by a bus?”
It tends to land less harshly.
I hope this is useful to you in choosing when to be direct and when to use an analogy or metaphor.
PS what would happen if you were hit by a bus tomorrow?