Herding Cats

Several years ago, the “Herding Cats” commercial (for EDS) caught my attention as a great description of leadership. The one-minute commercial is jam-packed with language and imagery about leadership and mission (see complete transcript below).

Transcript:

This man right here is my great grandfather. He’s the first cat herder in our family.

Herdin’ cats … don’t let anybody tell you it’s easy.

Anybody can herd cattle. Holdin’ together ten thousand half-wild shorthairs, well, that’s another thing altogether.

Being a cat herder is probably about the toughest thing I think I’ve ever done.

I got this one this morning, right here. And if you look at his face … it’s just ripped to shreds, you know?

You see the movies, you hear the stories. It’s … I’m livin’ a dream. … Not everyone can do what we do.

I wouldn’t do nothin’ else.

It ain’t an easy job. But when you bring a herd into town, and you ain’t lost a one of ’em, ain’t a feelin’ like it in the world.

I haven’t thought about this commercial in a while, but I remembered it the morning before our recent covenant group meeting. We showed the commercial to open out group meeting. In the context of Simple Church, it communicates that while the mission is simple (that is, it’s known, “bringing a herd into town”), it’s NOT easy.

But it’s worth it. There “ain’t a feelin’ like it in the world!”

2 thoughts on “Herding Cats”

  1. Debra, I’m sorry you can’t see it here. Probably the best thing to do is search “herding cats” (and maybe add “commcercial” or even “eds,” the name of the company) at YouTube.com. If you still need help, I can try to send you a direct link.

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