Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

Do you remember as a child, in elementary school, studying what your Dad/Mom “did” (to earn a living)? Or maybe it was just a question asked on the playground when kids are trying to unconsciously size up the other kids socioeconomic status answering the burning question of “Will I have anything in common with this kid?”

My Dad drove a truck; simple and pure answer and it was something he loved to do. It was not close to comprehensive, it was just a check the box answer. He was a proud man who sought to make a difference with the resources put in front of him. He did it his way, pushing tired iron to it’s limits because he couldn’t afford new.

The rest of the story…

Dad passed earlier this year and quite honestly I’ve been tied up emotionally with other issues and haven’t processed his death fully. Maybe a little more today.

Dad was a general contractor. He was resourceful and a bit of a modern day alchemist. It takes loads of vision and passion to see coal ash and broken concrete and decide you can make something out of it that people will pay you for.

You may have heard Barbara Mandrell sing, “I was country when country wasn’t cool”…well Dad recycled stuff and made it economical well before the general public embraced a carbon neutral or zero impact footprint. In fact, if Steve Jobs is getting credit for pushing people to extraordinary limits beyond what they thought they could do by brow beating them, screaming at them in meetings and insisting that they produce exactly what he was looking for…my Dad was channeling Jobs before Jobs was cool and Apple was putting a dent in the universe…who knew?

He had undeniable influence on me and instilled in me and my siblings qualities that we carry around today, whether on our sleeve or deep in our hearts.

My brother happens to drive a truck today. As the oldest in the family, he broke in Mom and Dad so the rest of us could sail through childhood. He and I became inexpensive and highly accessible labor, including driving truck. It was enjoyable and rewarding enough that he ultimately chose it as his vocation. Like Dad, he’s much more than a truck driver. As an owner-operator, a businessman with innovative problem solving skills, persistence in delivering oversized loads in a variety of conditions and a skilled and experienced technician…there is no hill too high for him to climb. He, like Dad, is an entrepreneur. A successful entrepreneur.

In closing, I’m reminded of a former pastor who ended each sermon with the statement, “As you go out into the world this week remember that every one is fighting a battle of some kind, so be gentle.” In that spirit, recognize that there is no such thing as just a truck driver. We may have been forgiven for a childish oversimplification when we were young, but not today.

Can you think of someone in your life you have overlooked or oversimplified that deserves a little more consideration?

Have a blessed weekend

Good morning, Team! It’s Friday!

The movie with the same name depicts a single guy, played by George Clooney, who has spent so much time in airports and airplanes that he’s at the edge of a major mileage milestone. He’s a savvy traveler who understands the most efficient way to get through security, sits up front in the big seats and gets treated well by flight attendants but few others. He’s become comfortable with a difficult situation and learned to make the most of it.

My ambitious daughter has been down this road, or should I say flight path, in the last couple of years racking up air miles and staying in different cities nearly every night. She’s younger, more resilient and needed to establish herself in the eyes of her company & colleagues (and probably even herself, I suspect). It’s an endurance test, a marathon and requires an enormous amount of patience. I’m sure she learned just as I am now that if you spend all your energy just tolerating the monster-sized commutes, you can’t be fully present to do the job you were hired to do.

Enter the old man. I heard 70 is the new 50 so I’m going to extrapolate that 50 is the new 30 and therefore I got plenty of gas in the tank for this new journey. After all, I’m a rolling stone, not Mick Jagger or Keith Richards, just an object in constant motion, now graduated to a new, higher level.

*By age 14, I had a driver’s license and have been chalking up serious road time since then, before that it was unlicensed driving with unlicensed vehicles…seemed rational (and I rarely questioned the boss).
*500 miles/day driving gravel truck was pretty common for several Summers.
*I’ve commuted, baby. 16 years of 90 miles, 1-way, 5 days a week, not counting the places I traveled to from there and then there was the weekend travel.
*Turns out I love to ride motorcycles and snowmobiles so traversing terrain of all sorts is in my blood.
*A few years ago I became more mobile when we bought a home 230 miles away from home base. My commute grew by more than double. It wasn’t daily but it was frequent and regular and stretched me …once again.
*My life journey has led me to a new opportunity to once again extend the reach of how far I will travel on a regular basis to (stay in regular contact with my Team and) do my job. Gulf Coast-to-East coast-to-West coast, it’s exciting, interesting, challenging and occasionally exhausting.

Reader, consider the stage adequately set.

While my patience gets tested by the taxi or Uber driver, gate agent, passengers far too large for their purchased seat…adjacent to yours…so they spill over into your personal, already crowded space…around the arm rest (meh), the mountain of change, sharp learning curve, new culture or shifting patterns compared to the last lifestyle from whence I came (and grew comfortable in), I am reminded of a few of the truths I have come to know.
Namely,

I believe.
I believe we all get tested on a regular basis.
How we respond to the adversity that is usually imbedded in these tests DEFINES us. Show up well…someone is always keeping score.

Know thyself.
Knowing how you react in each given situation to the level of detail that you realize your micro facial muscles “tell” your intended or unintended audience what you’re really thinking.
Smile more…It puts people at ease.

Do your absolute best.
When you half-ass anything, and I mean ANYTHING, you’ve wasted time doing it partially correct and a little voice is telling you that someone else will have to come back and correct what you consciously elected to not do well.
Understand what the Standard of Care is for any particular task, job, requirement or expectation … and meet or exceed it.

Teddy Roosevelt said “Do what you can with what you have where you are at.”

Don’t leave adversity, yourself or your responsibilities up in the air. Grab hold, own it, anticipate outcomes, respect the process and deliver (like your Grandma’s watching…because she probably is).

Have a blessed weekend.

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

Do you get excited about new stuff that may take time to get used to or do you prefer the worn and comfy feel of well broken in leather… like a baseball glove, a lounge chair or a satchel?

I started a new chapter this week and it has forced me to be a participant of serious Change that I’ve heralded for so long as a good thing. John Kotter breaks down the arduous process of facilitating change in his book “Leading Change” (However, I prefer the shorter version “Our iceberg is melting”). If you’re inclined to read anything I reference, I’d start with the iceberg book.

What became evident for me at the end of multiple meetings this week is just how good it feels to reengage with brilliant, caring, problem solvers. I thoroughly enjoy the personalities I’m getting to know quickly and although I may have given a poorly behaved reception to change when it was thrust on me like a bucket of ice water.

So what’s different, what’s new, what’s the big deal?

New company, new boss, new colleagues, new clients, new challenges, new opportunities, new locations, new hurdles, new perspectives, new ideas, new rules, new priorities and new appreciation for what I’ve learned and with whom I’ve been blessed to share this journey.

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

Last week, I sent a quick note to explain that I needed to focus on my upcoming and new commitment and I would be putting down my drum sticks for a while.

One of the faithful readers reminded me that this was not the time to step away from a weekly commitment. Rather, now is when the “best stuff” should be coming out. Thanks for the prompting, kid.

I have been a long time fan of Winston Churchill, who is famous for his grit, determination, flaws and failures but mostly for his perseverance. One of his famous quotes was “Never give in–never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” Without this conviction, the world could very easily be an entirely different place today.

I recently quoted Calvin Coolidge who qualified the value of pressing on above Talent and Genius and Education.  “Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”

Finally, in the book ‘Think and Grow Rich’ by Napoleon Hill, the author recounts the story of R. U. Darby and his uncle who worked a gold mine in Colorado and once they ran through the obvious vein of gold, they dug for a while longer but grew discouraged and quit digging and sold the equipment for scrap. A much larger vein, where millions of dollars of gold were taken, was found just 3 more feet past where the Darby’s quit digging!

So,
I will press on, I won’t give up and I’ll keep on digging for “gold”…as long as you leaders promise to do the same.

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders!  It’s Friday!

This will be short.

After months of enjoying a sabbatical with my wife, kids and grandson, where I have been able to travel, pontificate, rest and blog…I’ve been placed back on active duty!

With my new purpose, I believe I will need every ounce of discretionary energy to focus on my new Team.  That means I’m going to suspend this blog effort (for now anyway).

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

I stopped into the doctor’s office Wednesday to have a tiny bump/new mole on my hairline (or what used to be a distinct hairline) looked at. I ran into the pharmacist I’ve known for years on the way into the clinic, we talked about the extended Summer, vacation plans and the idea of what it would be like if work days and play days were inverted. I confessed that my last six months have been just that and he asked, “How’s it been?” I patted my belly and said, “I think I’ve gained a little weight.”

The surprise came with my preparatory measurements with the nurse. Scale confirmed what I already suspected…but the blood pressure measurement was the surprise. One hundred over seventy. I smiled and the nurse smiled back. “That’s really good!”, she said. “Must be my low-stress diet”, I countered. She looked a little perplexed as she walked out…”Doctor will be right in.”

With a leadership focus, you might wonder why this “fat”, bald(ing) guy is telling you about his doctor visit.

Leading is a challenge that takes a physical toll. Leading during challenging times brings out the worst habits, especially if good ones haven’t been established. For those who fly, you’ve likely heard (or ignored) the announcement “In case of emergency, an oxygen mask will drop from the overhead compartment…Secure your own mask before helping others.” I’ve heard it called the airplane theory. If you can’t take care of yourself (can’t breathe, can’t stay awake, can’t lift 40 pounds to open the escape hatch, etc…) how on earth are you going to help someone else?

Leadership is more than just stepping in front of a crowd and declaring which way to start walking.
Leadership is about:
*Self-mastery.
*Making good decisions.
*Setting an example WORTH following.

Be prepared. Be healthy. Rest when you can so you can fight when you must.

Have a blessed weekend!

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

If we look at the two areas we spend most of our adult life, it’s at home (with spouse) and at work. Human nature seems to prefer comfort and stability but the numbers tell us both primary areas are subject to instability and failure.

I was at a men’s breakfast gathering Thursday morning where the speaker mentioned how in his experience and statistically speaking, chances for success when starting out with substantial challenges, were not very good.

His comments were in reference to a new relationship where a couple’s potential for having children was nearly eliminated based on a pre-existing physical condition and the likelihood of the relationship surviving was, in his opinion, drastically reduced.

The first thing I thought about was, “What is the story behind the numbers?”
Do people quit things (in general) too easily?
Are our expectations out of line with reality?
Have we been conditioned to only take paths of lesser resistance?
Is it a safer bet to assume that things naturally fail more often than they succeed?

Well…

According to the American Psychological Association, “…about 40 to 50 percent of married couples in the United States divorce.

The divorce rate for subsequent marriages is even higher.”

When it comes to business, there is a popular myth out there that 9 out of 10 start ups fail. Depending on which statistic you read, which data set is studied and what time frame you consider, the rough failure rate over an extended period of time appears to be about 60%.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average worker currently holds ten different jobs before age forty, and this number is projected to grow. Forrester Research predicts that today’s youngest workers will hold twelve to fifteen jobs in their lifetime.

Doesn’t sound like comfort or stability to me.

So, let’s generalize here for a minute so we don’t get hung up on a number. New businesses, career starts and marriages in the U.S. fail more than half the time. Not very good statistics. The next thought for me becomes, “So your resolve is being tested, now what?”

I enjoy the words of Calvin Coolidge on this topic. He said,

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

Leaders – keep looking forward with persistence and determination.

Have a blessed weekend.

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

Is it September already?! As I board yet another flight in pursuit of the next stage of my life, I have an opportunity to reflect…something I took little time to do up to this point.
We seem to be at an incredible inflection point in history and on a global scale: Politics, economy, technology, demography, and social unrest. Some recent examples include…

Politics-
The latest indication is that Congress has enough votes to pass the Iran nuclear deal. This is substantial, in my opinion very negative, but is going to change the landscape of the world politic.
The clamoring of candidates vying for their party endorsement is as colorful as it has been in quite some time with no standouts from a positive perspective I can think of. Just a long road to empty promises bad behavior and ultimately mediocre leadership.

Economy-
Wild, super-roller coaster-like swings in global markets have created fear beyond reason and the smallest of relative issues are enough to tip a fragile, stale recovery. We should question the quality of measurements as indicators when unemployment falls to an “acceptable” level only after the calculation methods changed. How do we account for the disengaged? The disenfranchised? The underemployed? Why are we comfortable with the trend of so many young, recent and well educated citizens retreating back to their parents home to work far below their potential?
How many times do you remind yourself that this is the greatest country on the planet?…and is it in an attempt to convince yourself things are good or to privately ask, “is this as good as it gets?”

Technology-
Apple has been living up to its Vision of putting a dent in the universe. The way we “do” is substantially different than it was one, five, or ten years ago. A lot of good … and a lot of distraction. The “dent” includes a shift in wealth, a shift in focus, a shift in control and a shift in values. Isn’t it significant that the inventor and force behind so many changes to computing, music, entertainment, communication, data flow, privacy, and health was aware of and protective of how his own family consumed the products he inspired? Technical-enabled interruptions are encroaching on our discretionary time to the point we struggle to socialize at an intellectual level.

Demographics-
Do you understand what’s happening with world population projections, both increases and decreases? How about rural to urban migration? Maybe you don’t concern yourself with those things but they will affect you and the people you leave behind. The ramifications are enormous. While boarding, I noticed a young, adopted Chinese girl with her new Mom getting ready to fly to Beijing. The young girl clearly brought joy to her new family but it was a reminder of the Chinese policy to limit the number of children a family was allowed to raise combined with a gender preference has disrupted natural order.

Social Unrest-
All Lives matter.
The law is the law.

Criminals require punishment to maintain social order. I just returned from Houston this week where seeing gigantic flags flying at half staff make you wonder how long before they start getting flown upside down (symbolizing a nation in dire distress)? If your family member is affected, your passion toward the subject is undeniable but why should it take that level of direct involvement to understand and believe it? Isn’t it reasonable to assume that laws are in place to maintain public safety? Isn’t it also reasonable that if you choose to ignore those very same laws, either complying with or enforcing them, that there will be disorder and unrest? We vote, thereby hire and appoint, representation who we believe, or are led to believe, will carry out the duties of the office they expressed a desire to serve in. This stands for every level of service.

There are a number of conclusions that could be drawn from this small collection of facts and opinion-

1.The rate of change is rapidly increasing.

Prepare yourself for more change.

2. Quantity (more data, more information, more communication, more people, more work, more expectation…more noise) carries with it no guarantee that quality will be maintained. I believe we are awash with distraction today, as much as we can ‘afford’, and it feels as if we are steadily compromising our integrity or exchanging it for the shallowness of the latest sound bite.

Use discretion and be protective of what you feed your brain with.

3. Capitalism is losing ground to socialistic tendencies. We have real-time examples of how unrealistic the expectations can grow (Greece) regarding how much work is required to sustain an economy.

Always do what is required to leave things better than you found them.

4. Finally, God created all of us. How do you think it makes him feel when we treat each other poorly. From conception to death, compassion and understanding and tolerance and self control are the only real options.

Love thy neighbor.

Have a blessed Labor Day weekend.

Good Morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

Great leaders are great communicators. One of the more challenging issues leaders face is absorbing a tremendous amount of complicated data and transforming it into an effectively articulated assessment. You’re trying to paint a picture in the mind of your audience or today it better be a high-definition, Youtube like video that lasts no more than 6.5 seconds-the new human attention span, a full second and a half lower than a goldfish.

Enter the Metaphor

* I heard an effective one today that stuck with me regarding the economy:
The current U.S. economic situation was described by a CNBC contributor as “a guy walking his dog”. Marching straight down the path with the dog stretching out the leash. The guy is the economy and the dog is the stock market. What he didn’t say but I quickly pictured was a dog wandering back and forth along the path, number 1 over here, number 2 over there, wag its tail at you, bark when you don’t want it to, lay down when it’s tired and eat your lunch if you’re careless where you put it. I suppose you could even envision that your portfolio manager should be Cesar Millan (the dog whisperer).

* Another recent example was overheard from a life coach suggesting someone was “stepping on their own spiritual garden hose”

*Winston Churchill used them…in one of his most famous quotes, he said, “We are all worms, but I do believe I am a glow-worm.”

From economics to spiritual journeys to self-evaluation,
What better way
To say
What you’re trying to convey…

Have a blessed weekend.

Good morning, Leaders! It’s Friday!

Pastor Joel Johnson from Westwood community church in Chanhassen, wrapping up the Summer series on “Getting the Love thing right” said last Sunday in his sermon, real love is real hard. I do prefer to have expectations set early in a process and I am drawn to a challenge. Apparently that is why the phrase caught my ear and inspired me to investigate it further.

I started by reminding myself of the Fruits of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5 (Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). There is no law against these. So why would any of these be real hard? I thought about it a little more and came up with some examples…

You’re driving from the airport and you get cut off by a driver who is in more of a hurry than you are. For extra measure, they convey their displeasure with you in gesture and in words even the least perceptive could lip read. My first impulse would be to reciprocate. But [through love] instead, you say in your car,
“Why, I ought to [pray for] you! and
“God [bless] you!”
Real love IS real hard.

Winston Churchill, faced with an impending world war, described his love for country and inspired his countrymen this way, “I would say to the House as I said to those who have joined this government: I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering.”
Real love is real HARD.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16. Can you imagine willingly giving up your one and only child knowing that they would suffer beyond imagination and then die a humiliating death?
Real love is REAL hard.

Whether it’s converting your first impulse on the streets in your community, a country leader inspiring effort of epic proportions to save his country from tyranny or God sacrificing his only child to save the souls of all people who have faith-real love includes humility and commitment and sacrifice.

There is not enough love in this world. It’s a lot of work to turn your heart outward, rather than allow it to turn inward. We’ve all been hurt, disappointed, frustrated, damaged and broken. We can probably recite comments made or recount incidents where we’ve been wronged. Repeating that vignette in our subconscious multiple times a day. Holding onto the pain is human…but it only festers and creates more pain and spreads like a virus. I heard a friend say the other day, “Nature hates a void, Eric” and the worlds tendency is to fill it with garbage, if we let it.

Real love forgives-this allows you to move forward rather than being stuck in a rut of self pity and a broken record of ‘did you see what “they” just did to me’

Real love follows the lead put forth in Galatians:
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Real love is unconditional-no matter what happens, no matter how illogical, no matter how imperceptible, loving others the same way God first loved us is possible, but it is real hard.

I understand better what pastor Joel meant.

How can you add real love to the world you live in?

Volunteer at a local charitable organization?
Toss in a few more dollars in the offering plate?
Maybe it’s as simple as thanking someone for doing something they are supposed to do/get paid to do/have been assigned.

No matter what you consider, do it with a giving heart and start recording over that sad story in your head with positive, Fruit-of-the-Spirit type messages.

Have a blessed weekend.