Eye of the Storm

Last week I along with most members of my industry were in New York for an industry Trade Show.  By divine intervention, dumb luck or a little of both I managed to get out before Snowmaggedon hit the Northeast the end of last week.  Next week I do the same thing again in Las Vegas.  Yes, February and August for me is my bi-annual Super Bowl.  We launch new product lines and meet with most all of our customers to hopefully secure business for the future and ensure our long-term company profit and operation goals.

February and August are exhausting months.  Lots of travel - which is a lot more work than it used to be - lots of early mornings, late nights and even sleepless nights in anticipation of making sure all of mine and my colleague's work is paid off by generating great results with and for my customers.  It's enough to make a middle aged guy feel old!

This past weekend I also celebrated another birthday.  As I have said to many friends and family "it is the last official birthday that I can claim to still be young."  I'll leave that for you to figure out my age.  As I enjoy my last year of youth I have to admit that I am finally gaining some wisdom and getting to the age where I can share wisdom instead of only seeking it.

My observation to share this week is that there is no substitute for preparation.  If we all know when the storms of life were coming and could prepare ourselves I am convinced that we would be much better off.  Of course, there are many twists and turns where we get blindsided by things and all we can do is to pick up the pieces.  In those cases, I think it's not what happens to you but how you respond that defines who you are.  Let me address the idea of preparation.

No matter what you do, in what occupation you find yourself, there are times we know in advance that a busy time is coming.  For me, it's February and August.  For my wife it's the end of the school year or the weeks leading up to Christmas.  For accountants April 15 is looming large.  You get the idea.  For many years my tendency was to just "weather the storm" and then take the weeks after the storm to pick up the pieces and/or to just take a few weeks to slowly "recuperate" which really meant just sleepwalking through March and September.

I find that by planning ahead not only am I ready and prepared to perform at my peak during the storms but I also have plenty of energy left to devote to the "March and Septembers" of life.  In other words, it helps me stay on an even keel.  Now, I must admit that there was a lot more down time in my schedule before I started along this path, however my productivity and energy level is at an all time high. 

it takes discipline.  It takes commitment.  Sometimes I still screw up and wish I would have prepared even better.  Sometimes I just have to take a nap.  Most importantly, I have time to focus on more important things and I am not always controlled by the urgent.  I have put away my fire fighting gear and am working smarter and having more time for important things.  Like enjoying my weekends.  My focus is not surviving the looming storm but rather it's a hopeful mindset to prosper even during them.  I would much rather be a storm trooper than a fire fighter!

I wish I was 13

This past weekend my wife and I had a sleep over with eleven 13 year old seventh grade boys.  We agreed for the second year in a row to be a host home for a group of young men from our church who were having a weekend retreat between church and our house.  I have certainly had my fill of pizza, chips, soda, cookies and any other food that would make a teenage boy stay up until the wee hours of the morning and clog the arteries of a "middle aged" guy trying to act like he's still a teenager.  They arrived Friday night and we took them up to church Sunday morning for services.  We ate a lot, laughed a lot, prayed a lot and slept very little.  Man, I miss those guys! 

Don't feel too sorry for me - I have three teenagers of my own to keep me company.  They came home Sunday afternoon from other people's houses where they spent the weekend.  There was a lot of napping going on Sunday afternoon during the football games. 

It wasn't that hanging around with teenagers was an unusual experience, as previously mentioned.  It is a little unusual to have eleven 13 year olds amped up on sugar and adrenaline spending the weekend.  Boy, did my house go from chaotic in the morning to tranquil in the afternoon.  As with everything, there were lessons to be learned from the weekend.  I will avoid any religious discussions and focus on the life lessons I learned.

I try to always be thought provoking and insightful with my posts.  This week, I have to confess I don't believe I am either.  I do believe, however that we can all learn from any situation we find ourselves in.  This weekend for me was no exception.  Here are the huge take aways I am focusing on this week and encourage you to do likewise:

• Laugh more
• Worry less
• Have fun

There you go.  Aren't you glad you read through a few hundred words to get to that?  It sounds so simple.  But I ask you, honestly, can you say that you have these things nailed down?  Not me.  It hasn't revolutionized my life this week but it sure has made it more fun by following these three little guidelines.  I still have pressures, problems and responsibilities.  I also have a much better handle on how to deal with them.

This weekend, go laugh a little.  Don't focus on your worries - count your blessings.  Among mine are my eleven new friends who taught me a thing or two.  I wonder what they're doing this weekend?

New Beginnings

Happy New Year!  I do love this time of the year having just closed out the Holiday season and then launching in to a New Year with a veritable clean slate an an opportunity to begin to grow in to new experiences and new goals.  I am not in to New Year's resolutions but I am in to renewing my thoughts, plans and directions in order to arrive in a better place at the end of 2013 than I was at the end of 2012.

I don't know about you but my business is completely different than it was just a few year's ago.  I talk to a lot of people in a lot of different industries and it is a common theme that competition is more fierce than it's ever been and there are seemingly less people to sell our products and services to.  It makes times like these incredibly challenging.  This year rather than hope I can get by for another year I am going on the offensive to change how I run my business and how I compete in the marketplace.  Maybe you're like me and for many years you could get by being a "nice guy" and someone who provided good (not great) customer service.  If that still works for you, good luck but I am going to suggest that you ratchet up your efforts because if your business has been affected yet by more competitors and less customers I suspect it's only a matter of time. 

Here are a few challenges that I have for myself.  I hope they'll resonate with you and cause you to change your course in the New Year:

• How often do you talk to your best customers?  Your most important vendors or suppliers?  If they're not talking to you, who are they talking to that's trying to take your business away from you?  Do you know what their goals are for the New Year?
• Are you focused on your company's needs or your customer's needs?  Just because your a well run company doesn't mean that you're providing value to help meet customer's needs.
• While you're busy building in to your business, service or product are you equally focused on building up your co-workers and employees? 
• Have you considered what you need to say "no" to this year so that you can say "yes" to the most important things that only you can do?
• Are you spending the majority of time working on areas of strength or trying to compensate for your weaknesses?  There's a big difference in your performance and satisfaction on the job, depending on your answer.

There's plenty more but that is hopefully enough to occupy your thoughts and plans for a few days.  Maybe it will create other ideas that you need to work on.  I can't tell you what's going to happen in the world or your industry the next 12 months.  If you get the right answers to the questions above I am convinced you will be better off this time next year no matter what happens.  Make 2013 your best year ever!

Unspeakable

A lot of times I sit down to write this weekly post and the content just kind of flows.  I have a general idea what I'm going to discuss and then I get a little inspired and the rest just kind of happens.  This week I feel compelled to cover the unspeakable events from last week in Newtown, Connecticut, although I have never sat down to write a post with less of an idea what to say than I am today.

I am also asking myself why write about this?  What value is there in discussing a deeply emotional and personal matter?  How does it apply to my business associates, customers and contemporaries within and outside my industry?  The answer is, at least at this moment, I have no idea.  Maybe it's just therapy for me to express my shock and horror.  I hope reading these words provide some ideas or maybe a little therapy for you.

I am the father of three teenage kids.  I cannot imagine ever having to go through a similar tragedy with one of my kids.  Unfortunately, I know many that have and I think that is one of those situations that you just don't know how to deal with it until you live through it.  The human spirit is an amazing thing.  Like any other parent and like some teachers and administrators did last week, I would sacrifice my life for any one of my kids without a second thought.  It's human nature.  We look out for those who cannot look out for themselves.  Especially those we love.

There is a hard question that we need to know the answer to.  The frustrating part is in a situation like this the question of WHY? doesn't have an answer.  News and Social Media try to dig and find clues in to the lifestyles and personalities of assailants in these situations to see if we can form clues as to what could lead them to such heinous conclusions.  The more we find out, the less sense it makes.  And the angrier we get because someone has to get the blame. 

Politicians, talking heads and people at the water color will now debate how to prevent these types of tragedies in the future.  As our president deftly pointed out in his emotional address to the country, we have had to deal with far too many of these types of tragedies is recent years.  All of us our interested in being part of the solution and many of us have or will weigh in on our stance regarding some of the issues that must be addressed such as gun control.

I have no interest in taking up such debate here.  My interest is much more foundational and based upon principles that have been around as long as man has inhabited the earth.  We have to reach out to others - especially those who are hurting - and show them we care.  It's not easy.  It's not convenient.  It's not comfortable.  It is paramount to helping not only those who are hurting but also to stop hurting others who are helpless. 

These issues could be discussed for far longer and in far more detail than I can go in to in a few short paragraphs.  I really don't know how to begin or end this topic.  There are many more questions than answers.  Arguments than resolutions.  Problems than solutions.

I do know that as we prepare to celebrate Christmas and a New Year that we must aspire to be better to each other for the benefit of our schools, our states and our country.  It's simplistic and perhaps a bit trite but to get back to basics I think Lennon and McCartney had it right:
                                                                       All you need is love
                                                                       Love is all you need 
And as Old Ebeneezer said when realizing the error of his ways: God Bless us all!
                                                            

The first Personal Mission Statement

Last week I discussed the Scout Law.  Certainly a list of ideals that we wish every American would follow more judiciously.  Our country would be a much better place to live if we all did.  To wit and in review: A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Thrifty, Cheerful, Brave, Clean and Reverent. Characteristics we could all stand to develop in the New Year.

This week, let's focus on the Scout Oath: On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.  I challenge you to find a better personal mission statement that has more compelling desired outcomes than that one in only a couple of sentences. 

As I said last week, despite the negativity that has surrounded the BSA in the press the last several months I am a weekly participant in a Boy Scout troop as the parent of a Scout, a Merit Badge counselor and a camp out assistant.  My point is I have a bird's eye view of what it means to be a Boy Scout.  My only regret is I wish I would have participated when I was a teenager. 

For example, this fall I taught a merit badge class to a group of primarily 12 and 13 year old boys.  The class was on personal management.  I guided boys through topics and exercises on setting budgets, investing money, borrowing money and time management.  Man, I wish I would have had someone spend time with me learning all that these boys learned when I was their age.  As I told them weekly, they are life skills that they can use even when they get to be an old guy like me. 

It's about that time of year when we all take stock of our accomplishments over the past year.  Then we turn our attention to those things we wish to tackle in the New Year.  I have a list of things this year that is ambitious, inspiring and makes me a little uncomfortable - on purpose.  I know that even if I only accomplish a portion of what I intend to do that 2013 will be a great year.  I can't wait to get started.

Before I do, though I want to take time to work the Scout Oath in to my consciousness so that while I am attempting to do all that I have set out to do that I do it in a way that feels right.  Let's see, on my honor, do my best, my God, my Country, obey 12 tenants of Scout Law, help other people, physically strong, mentally awake, morally straight.  Yep, that should do just fine.

Last year the Boy Scouts celebrated their 100th anniversary.  I may not be the smartest guy to ever go to a Boy Scout meeting but even I can figure out that things of value always last.  Times have changed and our culture presents both tremendous opportunities and challenges, even for organizations like the BSA.  Their message has never changed.  And it is just as relevant for all of us today and every day in the New Year as it was 100 years ago.  Happy Scouting!

I wish I was a Boy Scout

I have a teenage son who has spent the last three years in the Boy Scout program.  This program has not gotten much press lately that isn't bad.  Frankly, I think that's a shame.  I had no affinity for Scouts before 2009.  Never spent a day in my life doing it.  If not for the urging of my wife (like most of the good decisions in my life) I would have never gotten myself or my son involved.  Now I am more enthusiastic about it than my son is.  I go on camp outs, I teach merit badge classes, I volunteer whenever and however I can.  I can't get enough.

One of my passions in life is teaching and leading young men to learn life skills.  I have found my sweet spot with the Boy Scouts.  I also teach a group of 7th grade boys in a Sunday School class at church every week.  There are striking similarities between the two.  Most of all I love learning from them and being able to share with them the few small nuggets of wisdom I might have learned over the years.  Mostly earned by my own stupidity, I might add.  The phrase "do as I say, not as I do" comes to mind. 

I want to spend the next two weeks digesting two of the pillars of the Scouting program.  The Scout Law this week and the Scout oath next week.  I think there are life, business, personal and who knows what other areas of our lives that could benefit from reading and studying these "mission statements."

A Scout is: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Thrifty, Cheerful, Brave, Clean and Reverent. 

I was tempted to take each characteristic and spent a week on it but thought I lose people somewhere between courteous and kind.  Even if you just take each characteristic at face value it's not a bad way to live your life.  Instead of spending the next several weeks reading my deeper thoughts about each one I would challenge you to reflect upon these one by one and ask yourself how they apply to you personally, professionally and ideologically.  I am convinced there is some gold to be mined here.

How much would your personal relationships improve from working on being courteous, kind and cheerful?  Wouldn't your customers and stakeholders be more inclined to think of you more positively (and give you more business) if you were trustworthy, helpful and thrifty?  Wouldn't you like to be known as a person who is loyal, brave and reverent.

I think you get the picture.  I think the Scouts have gotten it for a long time.  These characteristics and values don't change with the economy, the political parties or the latest technology.  Tried and true these values make us all a better nation.  God bless the USA and God bless the BSA. 

A week for Thanks

Call me sentimental and trite.  Skip over this one if you choose, however I think this year is as good a time as any to pause and give thanks for the blessings I have, the freedoms I enjoy and the ability I have to make a difference in the lives of others. 

I am blessed with a wonderful family both at home and at work.  I am thankful that I can truly say I work with people that I can call family.  It is a wonderful way to come to work every morning, to work hard every day and to look back on every evening.  I wish some of my friends who are unhappy in their jobs could experience what I get to experience every day.  I am blessed with good health.  In the last year I have lost a significant amount of weight and maintained a healthy lifestyle to keep the weight off.  Three years ago this week I spent 12 days in the hospital waiting to have surgery.  I am glad that this year I don't have to drink only juice and water on Thanksgiving but rather get to enjoy my wife's wonderful meal. 

I am thankful to live in a country where I have the freedom to speak, vote, pray and live any way I choose without fear of persecution or retribution.  I have friends all over the world and while there are many wonderful places to visit I cannot imagine living anywhere else.  Even though we are divided on many issues in this country I believe that through adversity we have and will continue to become stronger.  I am grateful for those who have given their lives for the freedoms I enjoy and do not take for granted not minimize the sacrifices of those who have given more than I ever could to enjoy more than I will ever deserve. 

I am grateful for the small impact I can make every day in a few lives that I come across.  I do not see myself as anything bigger than I am but I do enjoy the opportunity to lead and teach others and hope I can add value to each situation and personal encounter I am involved in by giving a little of myself.  The more I give of myself the more enjoyment I continue to gain out of life.  I don't say this with pride or self-promotion but rather as one who took too long to learn this lesson and wishes I would have gotten to this point in my life much sooner. 

So on this week of Thanksgiving, like most of you I am sure, I am extremely grateful for all of the things I take for granted throughout the year.  I am resolved to not just pause to give thanks this week but to strive to have an attitude of gratitude that guides me throughout the year.  If we would all embrace that mindset I suspect that we would have no choice but to turn every week in to Thanksgiving week.  Because if for no other reason one week would not be enough time to give thanks for the abundance we have to enjoy.