Good morning, Team! It’s Friday!
I’m pulling together many bits of wisdom and my experience to make a point. Hopefully, they make sense and the conclusion resonates. As always, your comments are welcome.
A bit of wisdom from an icon
Warren Buffet says it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.
A bit about my preferences
I personally love to:
•Build
•Grow
•Influence
•Problem Solve
•Create and Add Value
A bit of a conundrum
Problem solving doesn’t always equate to simply adding more in a leadership role…sometimes removing and reallocating is important to allow a business to perform and to help some resources to thrive elsewhere. You might think this last point sounds like a one-sided argument. It’s not. Case in point:
Cameron Herald, author of Double Double, gave a compelling example of letting someone go from his organization and after deliberating and agonizing quietly for a long time, he finally took action and to his surprise the person being let go asked him, “What took you so long?!” Sometimes what you believe is firing is actually allowing someone to be released from their obligation to you/company so they can be successful elsewhere.
Anecdote
Maybe the percussionist didn’t belong in the orchestra but they went on to excel in a rock band.
A bit about my journey
I was handed an incredible amount of responsibility at a very early age and just about the time I felt like I could handle it, another load was dropped on my plate. This happened continuously for 43 years straight. I was told and believed;
“If you want something done, give it to a busy person.”
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
“God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.”
A bit about my first career experiences
Have you ever seen a continuous-flow process not work well? Like a plugged drain or a starved grain auger?
I was so programmed to see the total traffic picture and run to the point of a problem so the process could keep rolling that I gained insight and could anticipate concerns, troubleshoot on the fly and keep things moving in a positive and productive direction.
Example:
Our family contracting business used to crush concrete with a specially designed crusher…
Raw product (broken up concrete) delivered up top, run through process, perform quality control at the bottom of the output chute and stockpile final product, ready for distribution.
Typical problem patterns that became obvious over time:
*When there was too large of a concrete piece, it would plug the hopper.
*When there was too much clay with the concrete, it would plug the jaw.
*When there was too much rebar in the jaw, it would plug the output.
When it worked well, everyone knew it and felt it and Dad used to beam with pride. When it didn’t go well, we were all frustrated. All processes have points of failure. Anticipation and constant correction is part of life.
A bit about my professional career
In my past, I’ve been challenged with instilling accountability and aligning resources at department, division and enterprise levels. Each situation was different … but short term thinking often led to the steaming piles of obligation I was asked to sort out. Because I enjoy a challenge and love to solve problems, I dove in … without much regard for my personal reputation.
Lessons learned
+For someone who is aware of what culture is and should look like, a best culture fit yields joy and satisfaction to the extent that your significant other can see it when you walk in the door at night …. before you even open your mouth. Conversely, when someone is unfit and unhappy, everyone knows about it and wishes you wouldn’t open your mouth.
+To be successful in business, one must balance short-term and long-term thinking, demonstrate courage in the face of adversity and persevere, own your mistakes, forgive others and yourself.
+We all need to understand you can’t control everything around us. In fact, you will find the only thing you can truly control is how you respond to things that happen, whether “to you” or just happen. Our choices shape who we become and how people see us is beyond our control.
Conclusion
Well placed people executing sound processes with a clear mission directed by leaders who keep a balanced approach to the company’s short term and long term vision will find success and earn a reputation worth protecting.
Have a blessed weekend!
Tenacious Cadence 