What would the next person do?

I've read and heard an interesting quote a couple of different places recently, and I really love it. Andy Grove was one of the early leaders of Intel, and said in a conversation with his CFO, "If we got kicked out and the board brought in a new CEO, what would he do? Why shouldn't we walk out the door, come back in, and do it ourselves?" 

I love that quote. I think about it all the time as a leader in an organization. 

If my church was to fire me, or I was to keel over dead tomorrow, what would the new guy need to change? If he had no personal attachment to ideas, emotional investments in programs, or sympathetic attachment to specific personalities, what things would he need to stop doing? What things would he need to do better? What things would he need to start doing? 

If I can name specific things on that list, what is it that is keeping me from walking out the door, walking back in, and pulling the trigger myself? 

Because here's the thing: If I don't make the switch, at some point in the future the organization will bring in the new guy. 

The question isn't just good for my role at the church though. It can be tweaked so it applies to every aspect of your life. 

My wife recently announced that if I died, she would remarry immediately (the mommy business is hard work). I plan to stay alive because I don't want her to bring a date to my funeral. Even so - play out the morbid scenario in your head. What things would she hope he would do differently? 

He'd turn off the water faucet when he was brushing his teeth, that's for sure. 

So what is it that keeps me from doing that now? 

Don't get me wrong. My wife isn't hoping for my untimely demise. Her future husband isn't something she thinks about. But there's no reason I shouldn't be a better husband to make that guy look like a complete tool. 

You wear a lot of hats in your life. You may be a boss, an employee, a husband, wife, child, parent, neighbor, or friend. Imagine you were replaced tomorrow. What would the person who filled that role do differently? 

What's keeping you from walking out the door, walking back in, and doing it yourself?