What would you give?

This past weekend I was thinking and teaching a little bit about sacrifice.  When I asked some young men I was speaking to to define sacrifice for me I got a very interesting answer that I was ready to brush aside but in an instant I realized the genius his answer contained.  The old saying, from the mouths of babes comes to mind.  He would be offended if I called him a child as he is in fact a young teen aged man, however the point is he more clearly than I was able gave an outstanding definition of what making a personal sacrifice means.

In a nutshell, here was his definition.  "It's like when you make like a sacrifice bunt in baseball so that the other guy can like move up and your team has like a chance to score more runs."  I love that he used a baseball analogy.  And I also think he like likes me but I'm not here to dissect teen speak.  Read that definition again.  Do you see what I see?  Genius.  Here is my take on what my young friend taught me.

A person who is willing to give himself up in order to help out the team is making a sacrifice.  Wow!  So many applications, so little time.  In a culture focused on self and all the rewards and accolades we can accumulate for ourselves in the shortest amount of time, rare and few are those who are willing to give up their own personal gain for the betterment of the larger "team."  Which teams do you play on?  Your family?  Your business or your department at work?  Your neighborhood, your city, your country?  Whether we want to admit and realize it or not we all are important members of many teams.  Take a few minutes and jot down the names of your teams.  I have at least a dozen I can think of right away, how about you?

The obvious next step then is to identify your role on each team.  Easy enough.  Once you have done that, here is where few are eager to progress beyond.  What are you willing to give of yourself for the greater good of the team?  Are you willing to give up your own personal gain so that the whole team wins?  Most of us would probably say "yes" because it's the "right" answer, however when the rubber meets the road I wonder.  It takes a long-term view and an attitude of putting off immediate gratification so that in the future the sacrifice gets turned in to a much bigger win. 

Think of this simple example.  I could go to the grocery store and buy a pint of my favorite ice cream and sit on the couch tonight watching TV while finishing off the pint.  It feels good, it tastes good and I'm sure if I think about it long enough I can come up with a reason why I deserve to reward myself.  If, however I don't go to the store and go to the gym instead of watching TV in the long run I am going to look better, feel better and do a better job in all of my roles on all of my teams.

The analogies are endless.  I'm sure you can easily think of many others that apply to you and your situations.  The only question remaining is what would you give?  You may never see the rewards, you may never hear the accolades but you will know that by your sacrifice you enabled the team to go farther than they could have gone otherwise.  May you bunt your way to victory! 

April Fools

Wow!  Here we are already.  I hate to alarm you but 2013 is already 1/3 of the way over.  I hope you're still not getting over you Holiday hangover or thinking about pulling out your New Year's resolutions to take a look at them for the first time since, oh about January 5th.  Welcome to April and welcome to the fast paced world of business that moves even quicker than the weeks and months on a calendar. 

It's a recurring theme but I continue to be amazed at how quickly and drastically my business is changing each and every year and honestly every month.  I had a planning session with the key leaders of our company at the beginning of January and several of the objectives we outlined to work on this year have already been changed due to a change in our market or our customers.  I cannot imagine the same is not true for all of you. 

If you're not sure then I suggest you do as I am attempting to do and break away from the daily grind of your desk or your office and get out in to the market and see what's going on with your customers and with their customers.  I bet you will be surprised by at least a few things you didn't realize.  I also bet you'll come away with some insights in to how to make your products or services better.  Personally I'd rather spend all day in the field doing market research than I had running from meeting to meeting within my office making plans for things that may change before I get them implemented.  Don't think things are changing that fast?  Then I suggest you need a new pair of shoes (feel free to order them from me) so you can run faster. 

Ahead of the curve is the new normal if you want to be successful in this fast changing world.  Last year's can't miss is this year's can't figure it out.  What's next?  I don't know but I am guessing you're not going to figure it out by working longer hours and scheduling more meetings.  You can't feel a heartbeat if you don't have your finger on the pulse.  I don't know what that means for you specifically but I certainly would recommend you find out - soon. 

I love spring - my favorite time of the year.  Lots of new beginnings, new opportunities and fresh approaches.  Now is a great time to take advantage of the ones you have.  Maybe April showers will bring May flowers but I really hope this month won't turn you in to an April fool.