The fourth

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Good morning, Team!  It’s Friday!

The “reason for the season” is a reference often used for Christmas to remind those of us who get caught up in all of the festivities as to why we are celebrating in the first place.
As we enjoy a long weekend based on when Independence Day falls in 2019, it seems appropriate to raise a reminder of what we are celebrating with parades and fireworks and potato salad.
I went to “the lake” yesterday, I caught up with relatives, I rode my motorcycle and watched fireworks at the end of a long and glorious day.  My route was unencumbered, no one asked me who I was going to see, no one told me what kind of motorcycle I could ride or how far I could go and I didn’t have to buy fireworks in order to enjoy a local municipal display.  I thoroughly enjoyed the holiday.  We even sang a verse of God Bless America after saying grace before the lunchtime fare.
I only saw and heard hints of military reference among the sea of red, white and blue flags.
•Someone in the boat parade with a sign on the side reflecting on Iwo Jima with a few in camouflage acting out the iconic scene.
•Someone else at the fireworks display last evening dressed in a unique clothing, presumably to draw attention, with a megaphone and expressing their right to free speech berating the US armed forces.
So many hard fought battles took place to attain, retain and maintain independence as a country so that we might enjoy a boat parade, a motorcycle ride, a fireworks display or a prayer before a meal…with family and friends.
We are a young country by most standards.  We don’t always understand or respect the sacrifices made in order to live the life we are so blessed to live.  Our democracy has incredible freedoms built into it and those freedoms continue to expand.
No matter how you celebrate Independence Day this long weekend, my wish is that you enjoy your time with family and friends to the fullest.  Remember that the freedoms we enjoy today, not simply the birth of the country that we toast each Summer but the lifestyle we have been afforded cane to us through so many brave souls who fought in wars they may or may not have understood or agreed with including many who made the ultimate sacrifice.
God bless America!
God bless America,
Land that I love,
Stand beside her and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above;
From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America,
My home, sweet home.
God bless America,
My home, sweet home.
Have a blessed weekend!

Detail-oriented versus precision too

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Good morning, Team!  It’s Friday!
•The total number of professional athletes in the world is approximately 5,000.  Forbes, 2012
•Bigger! Stronger! Faster!
Walter Bond, former NBA player and motivational speaker said the pressure to get better (bigger…yada, yada) every year as a professional athlete was incredible.
•According to a 2009 Sports Illustrated article, 78% of National Football League (NFL) players are either bankrupt or are under financial stress within two years of retirement and an estimated 60% of National Basketball Association (NBA) players go bankrupt within five years after leaving their sport.
Take aways:
1. It is hard to reach a level of excellence where you can derive a living from participating in professional athletics.
2. It’s harder to hang on to the funds generated by this unusual way of making a living.
3. The pressure to perform is daunting.
With that groundwork laid, I met a professional trainer (of sorts) yesterday on my business flight to Chicago.  He was anxious to talk and share and I was less cooperative (to begin with).  I was doing research, forming questions and preparing for my meeting but like a curious five year old, his glare was undeniable so I made (side) eye contact and he started firing off questions.
Where do YOU live?
What do YOU do?
Business or pleasure trip?
OK, I’ll bite.
Hi, I’m Eric.
[open the flood gates]
The readers digest version is that this gentleman works with professional athletes and leverages technology to a level most would fail to understand.
It’s BIG business, as we all understand based on salaries commanded by the most successful, gifted and awarded pros.
Have you ever wondered how pros maintain an edge, avoid getting hurt, perform at an unbelievable level consistency?  It’s detail orientation.
A few examples I heard today include
•Breathing from your belly, not your chest (this dropping blood pressure as much as 30 points)
•Tweaking your body chemistry to fend off illness and injury
•Paying hyper close attention to nutrition, sleep, and hydration understanding that herein lies the secret to excellence.
As we watch supreme athletes compete and wonder quietly to ourselves how they do it or what makes them tick, the insight I just gained tells me that their discipline toward their bodies is far beyond what most could imagine.  The detail required to garner the precision that makes the highlight reel of [pick your favorite sports channel] makes us scream with glee if it’s OUR team or yell in disgust if it’s the OTHER team.
What does this have to do with leadership?
Business is often looked at as a game.  Leadership in business requires that we operate at a higher level (the Pros).  Discipline in what we read, say or don’t say, do or don’t do, all matters because, like professional athletes, we are being watched at all times and our performance is on stage 24/7.
Have a blessed weekend!

Detail-oriented vs precision

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Good morning, Team!  It’s Friday!…and the first day of Summer!
During a recent debate with close friends, the topic came up about detail-oriented people compared to precision-minded people.  I felt they were interrelated while my counterpart saw things differently.  Since we were short on time, we carried the debate one small step forward but didn’t finish, a little like a chess game that sits idle for days while two players contemplate their next move.
I thought the topic made for good subject matter today, so…
EnGuarde!
If you are, have or will be looking for a job, you’ve probably seen the term “detail-oriented” in the desired skill list of a posting.  Defined by Quora as:
A detail oriented person is someone who pays attention to the details and can make a conscious effort to understand causes instead of just the effects, and that does this in a second nature type of way. It shouldn’t be something that the person has to work at.
Synonyms for “detail-oriented” can include: “meticulous, punctilious, conscientious, careful, diligent, attentive, ultra-careful, scrupulous, painstaking, exact, precise, accurate, correct, thorough, studious, exhaustive, mathematical, detailed, perfectionist, methodical, particular, religious, and strict.”
Oxford English Dictionary
Precision definition: the quality, condition, or fact of being exact and accurate.
Exact and accurate seem to show up in third party descriptions so I think they are interrelated through definition.  When it comes to practice, I maintain detail-oriented skill is foundational in order to achieve precision.
Perhaps the real difference, no matter how subtle, is that one can appreciate precision without wanting to be detail-obliged.  Like admiring a fine automobile styling, handling and performance without having to build it.
How does this relate to leadership?  From my perspective, leaders are expected to generate excellence in their products and services (which always tracks back to people).  If a detail-oriented leader can’t let go of their tendencies, they quickly become micro-managers and no one likes working for a micro-manager.
Leaders should have an appreciation for precision AND detail-oriented skills but should keep their fingers out of the details.
Have a blessed weekend!

Skip a beat, enjoy the view

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Good Morning, Team!  It’s Friday!

I’m late.

I’m unprepared to share a valuable leadership lesson.

I’m OK with that.

I’m scratching together new material for the weeks ahead, taking some time to smell the roses.  (Pictured here are a few shots from my recent trip to Portland, OR.)

May your Father’s Day weekend be filled with hugs and smiles and memories and joy.

In my father’s memory, I choose to remember fishing on a pontoon at Murphin’s resort when Dad wore his “fun” shirts instead of the blue Dickies let’s-get-some-work-done clothes.

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(Still fishing and thinking of Dad)

if your Dad is still with us, I hope you build some new memories.  If he’s gone, I hope you have a favorite memory you’ll cherish and recall.

Have a blessed weekend!

 

Build

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Good morning, Team!  It’s Friday!
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In the Architectural, Engineering and Construction (A/E/C) industry, the essence of what we do becomes obvious at the building phase.  Suffice it to say, there is a whole lot of work that goes into any effort well before the general public sees the first yard of dirt moved, the first traffic cone or the first road closed sign.
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I took the afternoon for inspiration and went for a spin.  The weather was easy to enjoy but I couldn’t stop … seeing … bridges.  They reminded me of two things;
• a primary infrastructure component that the AEC industry does so well, specifically defined as
Bridge
 
noun
  1. 1.
    a structure carrying a road, path, railroad, or canal across a river, ravine, road, railroad, or other obstacle.
and
• leadership.
My good friend, Mel Nelson, wrote a book on leadership using bridges as a complex metaphor.  “Building Bridges; Today’s decisions-Gateway to your future.”  I can’t look at a bridge the same today as his linkage between leadership principles and bridge elements tie the two very well.  You’ll have to read the book to know what I mean … but it’s worth the purchase and the time.
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I’ve been made aware that my random conclusions don’t always make sense and today is no exception.  However, I’d like to connect the dots or…bridge the gap, as it were.
We are facing an infrastructure need in this country that should transcend politics.  Check out ASCE’s latest report card on US infrastructure.
The $1 Trillion infrastructure bill still doesn’t scratch the surface.  In my home community, we had a bridge collapse a number of years ago where innocent people died because of a failing bridge.
We (you and me) need to do our part to build bridges of the human kind to build a conversational and diplomatic path from where we are to where we need to be.  What if you were the parent of a school-aged child and they brought home a D+ , would you turn a blind eye or a deaf ear?
Challenge: Contact your political representatives to get the current $1 Trillion bill passed before October, 2020 (my personal guess due to the politicizing of a human safety need) and get on with the remainder of work necessary to improve our aging and failing infrastructure.
Have a blessed weekend!

Friend of a friend

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Good Morning, Team!  It’s Friday!

Who dare challenge the power of relationships?
I once had a leader who was convinced that relationships played second fiddle to competence and capabilities.
I know another leader who is so good at creating, fostering and promoting relationships that he changed his title, removing President thus hiring someone in that role and directed his focus to develop stronger relationships inside and outside the organization and less on day-to-day operations.
This could be about personalities and preferences but since this blog is supposed to be about leadership, I’ll stay on topic.
You’ve seen me quote “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”  Attributed to Maya Angelou but others before her captured the same sentiment.  This isn’t about who said it first but that many great leaders acknowledged how critical it is to have a strong relationship above all else.
In the professional setting, relationships are labeled connections/part of your network.  When someone thinks two company representatives might benefit from knowing each other, they would refer one to the other.  I just made one of those virtual introductions last evening with the sincere desire for the relational value to be accretive.
In a personal setting, relationships are typically considered to be friends.  When someone thinks two people would benefit from knowing each other, they play matchmaker.  Friends helping friends.
In each case, the risk is high because if the referred relationship doesn’t materialize, it may backfire on the original relationship.  Tricky business.  Worth the risk.
Your mission, if you choose to accept it, would be to make at least one new friend today.  Smile, shake a hand, show some genuine interest and invest in humanity today.  Lather, rinse, repeat.
Have a blessed weekend!

Farr from Dallas

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Good morning, Team!  It’s Friday!

Greetings from Irving, TX where I attended the latest industry conference bringing an interesting mix of economists, private equity, venture capital, insurance, accounting, legal, HR, and governance experts and business partners along with buyers and sellers and of course valuation and deal facilitators.  This is the business of architecture and engineering.  Most of it occurring off-site on the golf course, at the Tex-Mex restaurant or in the bar or patio when the wait staff has punched out for the night/morning and the only lights left are from the fireplace and the stars.
This year we heard from multiple keynote speakers that:
•the economy is OK
•hard lessons are still being learned when growth exceeds practicality … and someone has to clean up the stadium after the big game (metaphor for aggressive growth and a “business as usual” message meets with the reality that multiple acquisitions leads to  a fractured culture, disparate systems and an integration nightmare).
•the second futurist in 3 weeks of travel was almost more than I could endure.  We heard from the high-priced “meteorologist” who could be dead wrong and no one would be able to find him to call bullshit on his observations/nebulous predictions.  Watch out!  The future will be here before you know it and everything we saw on the 1962 Hannah-Barbera Jetson’s cartoon has come true.  (I guess that’s why we call our Roomba by her stage name, Rosie.)
•venture capital will likely be the gas behind disrupting the AEC (architecture/engineering/construction) space as we get better at genuine innovation.
Michael Farr, regular financial cable TV contributor, kicked things off and was his regular, solid, practical self with a no politics message and an easy path to understanding of what we do and how we might consider strategic and tactical steps in the next year.  China is no longer the force it was at and the US is still the best place to invest.  If the infrastructure spend happens, as it should, we should see another decade of good investment.  If you can get a 5-7% return on your money in the next few years…be happy with that.
What can you take away from this as a leader?
Investments, regardless of the nature, are a critical part of a thriving economy and should continue.  Not always following the pack but always following a well-formed thesis.
Innovation, nicely described as the invented ladder to pick all the apples on the tree rather than the few you can reach from the ground, is a key to future prosperity.
Intuition, where experience rests in your gut, cannot be dismissed but should be open to challenge.  Things are changing … and becoming complacent will be the death of you and your business.
Have a blessed weekend!

Do it

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Good morning, Team!  It’s Friday!

I was in Portland, OR last weekend to visit my daughter Aarika.  She now works for Nike on their global campus and I was fortunate to get a walking tour of the impressive site.  Along with stunning architecture and inspirational statements like above, the entire site is masterfully woven between the natural beauty that is Oregon.

My first goal in making the trip was to see Aarika in her new element and make certain for myself that she was happy.  The career move was exciting for her and she loves her new digs downtown in a LEED platinum building.  She has done well and I am proud of her and excited to see what comes next.

I was also fortunate to see my former business partner Tammy and her spouse for breakfast to catch up and reminisce.  The whole trip filled my bucket, sharpened my saw and allowed me to gather beauty and inspiration.

AA7AD888-321D-454D-BDD7-71D772A58D46We went to Multnoma falls, stopped at a viewing point for the Columbia river and found a few establishments to enjoy some wine and tasty treats.

The beauty was overwhelming!  The inspiration was moving and the unspoken lessons on how to coexist were powerful.

If you’ve been reading between the lines, I’ve been searching for life-work-harmony for as long as I can remember.  Just recently was I able to articulate what it was and now I enjoy finding it and writing about it.

Here’s my latest take as I continue to calibrate my thoughts around work and family and self and life.  The writing on the bench up top, on the Nike campus reads, “Believe in something even if it means sacrificing everything”.

I believe in lots of things:

•God

•Humanity

•Love

I think I’ve sacrificed a lot:

•Family time (for career)

•Self (for family)

•Career (for the greater good)

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There were tons of more photo opportunities in Oregon than I shared here but the inspirational quote that resonated for me was the power of faith and sacrifice.

Each of us makes choices every day that impact the harmony in our lives.  Most of the time, I have noticed, more impetuous than deliberate.

My challenge to each of you is to be more mindful of the choices going forward.  Ask yourself, “At what cost?”  Is it critical to sacrifice everything?  Can you accomplish what you long for without impacting all you’ve worked for?

Have a blessed weekend!

 

 

 

Situational awareness

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Good morning, Team!  It’s Friday!
I jumped back into multi-modal travel again this week and was reminded why my annual blood pressure check was so low last month after a 4 month break…and today, it is not.
On my trek back from the East coast, I was in Philadelphia waiting for a delayed flight and relatively calm.  Listening to some music after a stint in the SkyClub.  I spy with my little eye, at Gate D8, far from ideal conditions where the poor passengers exiting the plane have no clear path to the main walkway and the gate agents.ssss….ssss…s.s.ssssss, well they announced that passengers waiting to board should stay back while passengers exit but some aloof, preoccupied, who-knows-why-it-didn’t-strike-them folks that the announcement pertained directly to them, paid no attention.  Apparently thrown off by the request “May I have your attention please?!”.  One passenger with spikes in her cheeks (yes, you read that right) and tattoos on her arms probably wanted each person to stop and take notice  of her choices but most of us preferred that people arriving, arrive so people boarding could…board.
What should you take away from this tiny rant?
For starters, it is not that I take exception to piercings or tattoos.  Quite the contrary.
My dismay was rooted in two grown adults who figured announcements were for others and even after the stream of people started to plug the encumbered path, these two specific road blocks sat comfortably along with the gate agents.sssss…ssss, while the delayed passengers had one final test of patience before their work day was over.
Look up, look around, be prepared, be aware, don’t be that person who becomes so engrossed in your self or your electronic device that you miss the bigger picture, whether its at gate D8 or at home or at the office or with a client.
The early life lesson for me comes from Mr. Kittleson, my driving instructor, who used to say, “View the total traffic picture.”  What’s in your windshield, mirrors, periphery? Move your head and body and watch out for blind spots.  (Note: Just because you have cameras and sensors and bright lights doesn’t excuse you from taking control and exhibiting mastery of the cabin you are piloting.  Those are aids but) Ultimately you are responsible for being a conduit for production rather than a barrier to improvement.
My personal and immediate awareness helped me to realize I’d be better to walk to the end of the terminal and think about something / anything entirely different rather than watch the spectacle or wait for the candid camera crew to pop out of some hidden room and laugh at all of us wondering how someone could be so disconnected from their surroundings.
Have a blessed weekend!
Bonus lesson inspired by the gate agentssssssssssss:
•Don’t forget to do your job and
•Leave things better than what you found them.
Peace be with you!

The fighter

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Good Morning, Team!  It’s Friday!
In the past few weeks, I’ve run across a large number of strong personalities that made me feel…normal.
What do I think qualifies someone to earn the title of fighter?  Here are some examples:
•The education administrator who navigated through a significant gender bias to influence the process and lead larger volumes of children to maximize their future by better choices, earlier.
•The business owner who persevered through decades of building a brand in architecture only to be forced to fight to a near-death, four-year legal match for the business and emotional freedom with the thought-to-be life partner.
•The owner-operator who demonstrated loyalty to a fault to a business partner who responded by taking advantage, misinforming, benefitting from the out-of-balance relationship and finally walking away from an anemic and failed transition.
•The physical education instructor working to help people take control of their out-of-control bodies but frustrated to a high level by the half-hearted posers wasting energy while lugging around their tubs of goo.
•The talent recruiter who modeled the way for future business partners by speaking up in her workplace when things weren’t handled correctly, providing direct and candid feedback professionally and ultimately moving on to a new company to influence an industry in a new way where her efforts were supported and appreciated.
What’s the common denominator?  Are each predestined to wage war every day?  If so, why?
I think it is because each one cares to a degree most fail to understand.  Perhaps cares “too much”.  When you have a persevering passion that mows over political correctness because the results-orientation is so intense…is it wrong?
I think it requires that we ask ourselves:
•For what cause?
•And what cost?
I admire the fighter.  Raise a glass and celebrate the fighter in your circle today.  When you care so deeply about something that you are willing to do what it takes to make it right…jump in the ring!
As Teddy Roosevelt wrote:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Have a blessed weekend!