Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

If you own a television you’ve probably seen some portion of the physical feats captured in South America this last couple of weeks. Over 10,000 athletes competed for a few hundred medals and the lifelong recognition and fame.

These athletes dedicate most of their lives to training and performing to compete with the rest of the world for the rare opportunity to be considered the leader in their sport. Fastest man on earth, most medals won, most points scored, amateur, professional…we think we determine who is best.

The spectacle, at least to this point, seems to justify the incredible amount of waste, corruption, cheating and ridiculous behavior that accompanies it.

Isn’t it a touch ironic that the intended celebration of human wonder and global sport competition is, at the same time, an indicator of how horrible people can become?

I don’t blame the athletes. I blame the governance who abused their position for personal gain, abandoned their global obligation of humanitarianism before sport and tarnished countless lives. The agony of defeat pales in comparison to a lifetime of misery from torn down homes to bankrupt cities…all in the interest of the games.

Did we really put the importance of a foot race higher than the human race?
I thought we were smarter than that.

Have a blessed weekend.

Good morning, Team! It’s Friday!

Jack Nicholson’s character in the movie “As good as it gets” trips over his tongue a lot during the movie but finally spits out to Helen Hunt’s character- “You make me want to be a better man.” Forecast, meant-to-be and received as a compliment, he succeeds in getting her to not walk out of the room, at least not at that moment. The magic of that line is a very proud man who is fighting his demons as best as he can, finds inspiration from a beautiful woman. Inspiration to dig a little deeper to take a chance on something he hates doing, taking pills, for the slightly better than 50% chance that it might improve his condition (obsessive compulsive disorder). Thus making him more presentable and perhaps increasing his chance of building a relationship with this quick-witted, jaded waitress just trying to provide for her special needs son.

The movie is superbly done but it points out the length a stubborn, broken, set-in-their-ways person will go for the right reasons.

So, in perhaps a less dramatic way we all struggle with the armor we strap on that may keep us from being better. It becomes the excuse we use to stop learning. It’s hard to make ourselves vulnerable. We tell ourselves things like:
•I’m all grown up now.
•I should know that by now so if I don’t, I just won’t open up my mouth and people will assume I do know that.
•I don’t have the energy to keep growing.
•or a thousand other things we tell ourselves to remain complacent and slowly deteriorate. Use it or lose it-brain, heart, muscles…you name it.

So what makes you want to GET better?

-Is it for a loved one?
-Is it to accomplish a task, milestone or career advancement?
-Are you still trying to win the favor of a parent, sibling or high school rival?

Do you recognize that God made you with a specific purpose and you may be fulfilling that right now in your current condition…or are you coming to that realization and you need to get better to fulfill your purpose?

We all have an idea of what better means to us. Whether it might be to; read more, consume less alcohol, eat fewer snacks and less red meat, lose 20 pounds, exercise more, volunteer more, mentor more, pay it forward, learn a new language, go on a mission trip, criticize less, share your heart more, give more hugs…those are a few on my list. I’ve been told that sharing your list increases the likelihood that they will happen because you make yourself vulnerable and welcome accountability.

I’d like to challenge each of you reading this blog to identify one thing you have been putting off that would make you act, feel and be…better. Maybe it’s a phone call, maybe it’s a doctor visit, maybe it’s cleaning out the garage and donating things to charity. Maybe it’s inviting someone to lunch, maybe it’s donating your time at an assisted living facility down the street. Maybe it’s {you fill in the blank}.

Have a blessed weekend.

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

I will apologize up front that this topic is not a Friday light-hearted muse. Today is a little deeper.

My delving into philosophy and psychology this morning stems from a reaction to the inundation of all the rhetoric, all the pain, all the broken parts of the world that I, along with each one of you, are subjected to every waking moment and when you can’t sleep yourself to refreshment, stretch it out to relaxation, drink it away through intoxication or wash it off until you look like lilies and smell like daisies…it starts to sink in, stinks up the attitude and pulls us down. The only thing I’ve found to scrub it clean is prayer. A peaceful reset from white light that cleans up the darkest stain.

Here are three basic questions you should answer as early in life as possible and until you do … with conviction … you are likely going to revisit them until you can.

Does God exist?
Who am I?
What is my purpose?

My daughter gave me the book “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl about a year ago. I read most of it when I first got it but it wasn’t until recently when I unpacked it from our latest move that I finished the book.
In the final pages, he provokes thoughts and emotions with phrases like (denoted with an asterisk *),

*”But I knew on that day, in that hour, my new life started. Step for step I progressed, until I became a human being.”
– (This addresses the phase of recovery after Frankl had been freed from the horrors of concentration camp. It was not an automatic reset the second he walked through the gates of the camp).

– It reminds me of the mountain climber who’s guide turns to him and says, you are not paying me to get you to the peak…you are paying me to get you back down safely. The top is only half way there or in Frankl’s case, the bottom was only half way through the experience.

*”…no one has the right to do wrong, not even if wrong has been done to them.”

-Whew! Tough to get your head around but many times harder to put into practice. Even with reminders like,
“Vengeance is mine saieth the Lord.” Romans 12:19
and
“But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.”
Matthew 5:39

*”Man, however, is able to live and even die for the sake of his ideals and values!”

-Doesn’t this beg questions for you like, “What do you stand for?” “What do you believe in?” & “What are you willing to do to defend it?”
•fight with whatever level of force deemed necessary
•work your fingers to the bone
•sacrifice your wealth, health, happiness or family
•walk away to avoid the potential destruction of what you’ve built (think on that for a while)

*Nietzsche (quoted in book): “He who has a WHY to live for can bear almost any HOW.”
-Amen

*”Thus it can be seen that mental health is based on a certain degree of tension, the tension between what one has already achieved and what one still ought to accomplish, or the gap between what one is and what one should become.”

-Where has this quote been?!
-This explains a lot for me.
-I’ve lived with this tension, unease, nagging, busybody behavior for SO long and now, it becomes obvious that I refuse to get comfortable with the idea that “this”/’who I am today’ is all I will be.
-some refer to it as lifelong learning

*Schopenhauer (quoted in book): “Mankind is apparently doomed to vacillate eternally between the two extremes of distress and boredom.”

-In this day and age of progressive automation…Siri (Apple’s voice activated solution provider), Alexa (Amazon’s voice activated interface and connection to the Internet), Cortana (Microsoft’s voice activation) or Google Now. We are destined to an increased level of “boredom” until we reach the next level of distress. Can you see it coming?

The meaning of life may be different for each of us but I think answering the three basic questions earlier in your years here on earth may save you and those around you significant time, energy and trouble.

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Team! It’s Friday!

•The phrase “Life Change” was heard last Sunday morning during Brian Suter’s sermon at Westwood Community church regarding Saul who later became known as Paul, the author of at least 7 and maybe as many as 14 books of the bible (depending on which scholar you trust) and went from persecutor to apostle and eventually persecuted for his beliefs. A substantial life change chronicled in the most influential book ever written.

•I happened to be watching a show about the NBA last week describing the Detroit Pistons and the rivalry with the Chicago Bulls. During the show on a popular sports network, they pointed out how one fairly famous guard got tired of getting beat up at the basket so he resolved to build himself up physically and mentally to what we know now as superstar status. This life change played out on the basketball court and went far beyond that. Once completed, the resultant statistics and accomplishments sparks debate about who was the greatest player of all time.

•”We’re pregnant.” I’ve never experienced so many emotions simultaneously as the day I heard those two words for the first time. Fear, surprise, anticipation, joy and trust…all came through me in a flash.
-I didn’t feel I was prepared to be a father, (and I used to enjoy the illusion of being in full control).
-This was a very busy time in our lives and it became obvious in an instant that things were about to change dramatically.
-After initial shock, the anticipation started to build. I’m going to be a daddy!
-What a gift God has entrusted Carole and I to be an integral part of.
This was the beginning of the most significant life change for me.

One common thread in each of these snippets is that anxiety and adversity led to action and amazement.

*Imagine Paul making a reversal from a self righteous man persecuting others for their beliefs to recognizing he was the chief of sinners and dedicating the balance of his life to helping so many others find everlasting life.

*Imagine Michael Jordan pulling himself up from professional ball player, a status very few achieve, to undisputed superstar.

*Imagine a pair of young college students focused on completing their education interrupted with the greatest gift possible and immediately transforming from a self-reliant couple to service-oriented parents.

We all experience life change. It’s not always positive. Most of the time we have a choice in how we react to these moments in our lives. Do we step up to the challenge or do we surrender to the status quo?

Imagine what you might miss if you let the anxiety and adversity rule your choices thus depriving yourself the opportunity to experience something amazing.

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders!  It’s Friday!

In the past month, two of our adult children posed the question to me in a text, “Are you voting for Trump?”

To give some background, I do not tell our children what to do (I recognize that my ability to influence dropped sharply after they turned six years old). They consult me on matters of career and finance … and now politics.

We learned Wednesday night that Senator Cruz will not be. He’ll be voting his conscience, although I don’t think you’ll find that entry on your ballot. Sore loser, or maybe just loser.

My rationale is complex but my answer is fairly simple.

Rationale:
•I usually vote for the Republican Party. Not because I wholeheartedly agree with everything in their platform by any stretch of the imagination. I don’t. However, I tend to lean more that way based on pro business, less government and less taxation. Whoopee. Call me a moderate, shame my political views, no matter.

•The process may not have yielded a candidate that gets the majority of conservative voters quickly behind him but a previously agreed upon process was followed. The angry electorate has spoken and it produced an angry candidate with the warts and hair…of ugly wrapping but we can only speculate whether the gift inside is beautiful or ugly at this point.

•Not voting at all removes my ability to have an opinion on anything political in the future four years. I can’t complain or brag if I sit on the sidelines rather than participate.

•The independent candidate is truly unconventional but not serious enough to be a contender so it would be synonymous to throwing your vote away.

•I fundamentally disagree with many of the positions of the one true opponent. What if you removed half of the negative claims currently being circulated or “wrote them down” due to potential embellishment. Would it be enough to change your mind? Not for me.

•Looking at the economies of so many other countries that have failed and reviewing key decisions that led to the current state of political and economic affairs, I don’t want us to become the next Japan, Greece, or countless other failed states across the globe who refused to take responsibility for their individual actions and ultimately led to where the global community sits today.

•Gone are the days when we can get most of what we want in a POTUS candidate. Some of our most heralded leaders were crooks, philanderers or just morally corrupt so when we take a realistic look at what the country absolutely needs versus trying to find a contortionist who makes everyone think they are perfect, we find that the bare minimum may have to be enough.

Note: I wrote and posted before the RNC Convention wraps up so if he delivers the speech of a lifetime or if he lays an ostrich egg, it really doesn’t matter.

Answer:
I am voting Republican. I plan to vote for Trump.

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!!

A few years back I read a book by the same title from author John C. Bogle-the brains behind Vanguard, the investment firm. In the book, he quickly highlights the grotesquely greedy behaviors of Wall Street hedge fund managers and it makes you start to wonder how you personally define success. The book was written in 2008 as we dove into the economic abyss we are still climbing out of. Perhaps if we had paid attention to the warning signs and John’s story of how he has led his own life, we could have spared so many so much pain.

The word also voices my sentiment about the current state of affairs with the social unrest, political rhetoric and global anxiety. What value does it provide? Does a heightened state of awareness have a limit?  Does an overstimulated population serve anyone?  When someone jokes about wishing for “world peace”, do we actually think we achieve that by stirring up everyone? Peace starts from within each of us. Patience, understanding, compassion and concern for others before ourselves would be a good start.

Lastly, on occasion, my lovely wife will point out a video, a book or a post on social media that strikes a chord. She brought me thought provoking items like Randy Pausch’s “Last Lecture”.  Last night she shared a Facebook post titled, “I wish you enough” based on the poem by Bob Perks and whether you’ve seen it or not, it’s worth reading again:

I wish you enough sun
to keep your attitude bright
I wish you enough rain
to appreciate the sun more
I wish you enough happiness
to keep your spirit alive
I wish you enough pain
so that the smallest joys in life
appear much bigger
I wish you enough gain
to satisfy your wanting
I wish you enough loss
to appreciate all that you possess
I wish you enough “Hello’s”
to get through the final “Goodbye.”

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

Sooner or later, the world tends to force us into a choice of one or the other. You may vacillate between them depending on circumstance or age but it is difficult to serve both masters because even though they sound similar, they are diametrically opposed.

Do good seems to imply that you are doing the right thing for the general public, human nature, public safety, often considered the right thing or the greater good. Think Mother Theresa good here. It isn’t about material things, it’s about having a positive impact on lives.

Do well seems to imply that you are doing something to support your personal agenda. You are promoting yourself above others. Rather than investing in the system with faith that you will get your just deserts, whatever that might be… you take a short cut, because you are impatient or, worse yet, greedy.

There are many in leadership positions who do very well for themselves. For instance, yesterday’s news came out that the Viacom CEO was removed from the board. He’s made hundreds of millions of dollars but if he is removed from his CEO post, his contract says he will receive 3x his annual salary in a severance. I’m not sure he’s done good but I am certain he’s done well for himself.

To add to the confusion, it is proper english to indicate you are doing well when someone asks “how are you doing?” suggesting “how are you?” or “what is the status of your well being?”, but most people will say, “I’m good” almost unknowingly conveying arrogance.

Then, I received a response today in an email where I wished someone well and they responded with, “I am doing fine but could be doing better”…

What does an optimal leader do? They pursue doing good and they have faith that they will be doing well.

Have a blessed weekend!

Remember your Father.

Good morning, Team! It’s Friday!

I’m spending time reflecting and projecting this week.
•I was invited to our 10th annual awards celebration last weekend in Manhattan. My first response was to decline the RSVP. I opened it and couldn’t find a way to say no thank you so I ignored it. Oops. Then I received a plea from my division president’s administrative assistant to which I said no thank you (again). Double oops. Finally, I was invited out to NY for two modestly significant meetings the day before the awards celebration to which I finally said OK, I get it now. No subtlety here…
The event was GREAT! Taking the time to celebrate what my colleagues do both at and outside of work, the event had an “Oscar” flavor without the Hollywood celebs. Excellent setting, food, drink, ambiance at the Harvard club but the real treat was the value the people brought to our industry. I got goosebumps more than once and just about popped buttons on my new shirt when my chest was swelling…and I’m still getting to know this group.

Then,

•I joined my executive group in Duluth for a quick retreat where we discussed a variety of topics including faith, operational excellence and future financial considerations for retirement.
•Will you have enough money to retire? •What should you be thinking about?
•How do you prepare?
•What will you do?
•How much does that cost?
•How long will you live?
•Will there be any social security?

By the time I got home and ready for the next work week, I was pooped. I just finished looking backwards in a grand manner surrounded by significant national and international company executives. I also just finished looking forward with anticipation and anxiety joined by a dozen local executive colleagues imparting wisdom to be a better version of myself. Then I had to look to tomorrow, literally, and decide what am I going to wear, what am I going to do and will it be significant enough to celebrate next year or will it even be enough to contribute to our retirement fund.

Was it going to be worth my time to get out of bed?

I did … but I won’t know right away. True worth cannot always be measured on the day we expend the effort. Not all projects begin and end in the same day. Most efforts require vision, commitment, strategy, tenacity (there’s that word again), patience and faith that you are doing things approximately right and will have impact, whether now or eventually.

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

Perspective is an honor and an expectation of leadership. You receive a certain amount of data and information from your core areas of concern like financial, legal, information technology, human resources, sales, marketing and communications and, of course, operations.
In addition to what you know of your organization, you work hard to gain access to valid external information like the political and economic environment, industry trends, and client feedback.
Finally, you must decide which information will demand your attention, which to monitor and what you can (or should) ignore. Now you’ve assembled your perspective.

The internally generated information should be readily available-I would argue to the entire company (i.e. open book) , easy to understand and have some range of acceptable operating parameter that ties to the business philosophy of the organization. One of the many dangers here is the “loudest voice in the room” where an issue in an area may be important but not critical yet the manager of that particular area has succumb to the tyranny of the urgent and will contend it is actionable and immediate in nature.

Today we have an abundance of external information readily available for little or no cost beyond the time it takes to consume and digest it. What and who to listen to as well as what information you can trust is becoming the new focus; facts versus opinions, old data, new data, market research or trusted advisor.
All leaders need to elevate their thinking, the way they process data and information to reach assessments that guide an organization forward. If we allow ourselves to be pulled into the muck, who’s steering the ship? Who is there to pull others out of the muck?
Do we tend to feel, as leaders, we must get our hands dirty to demonstrate our relevance?
Let’s not mistake our prerogative to dig into an issue as an excuse to soil our hands and prove our worth in a tangible and widely recognizable manner. If so, you are depriving someone else in the organization the opportunity to earn their own wings.

A leader immediately gets issued a megaphone and a spotlight that follows them around. Each word measured, each facial expression questioned whether it is consistent with the words spoken and the barrage of questioning why something was decided upon, specifically if it creates negative impacts, even though the data and information used by the leader to make decisions is often not obvious.  There is a delicate balance between some necessary short term wins to pacify the masses and making the harder, long term investment type decisions that sustain the company for the long term.

What you do with information is what differentiates a great leader from an average one…and everyone will have an opinion about the conclusions you’ve reached and the actions taken. The sad irony that follows leadership in this immediate gratification world we live in is that you may not be present to witness the resultant of all the critical decisions made.

Have a blessed weekend!