Our Problems are Small

Over this last week, I had the opportunity to listen to several speakers.  A couple of the speakers discussed the topic of success - what it means and how they have gone about building success within their lives.  I was then able to listen to a speaker challenge a group of 200 people on what steps they needed to take to improve the return on investment for the products that they provide to their customers.  And finally, I listened to a war hero tell his story - growing up in the mid-west, graduating from West Point, becoming a pilot, being shot down and captured by the enemy and held for 6 years in an 8’x8’ cell before returning home to America.

There was a constant thread through the stories and presentations, and a final lesson that placed a bow on the lessons of the week.

1. Adversity is a gift that forces us to reach into ourselves and through hope, faith, persistence, resilience, intelligence and ingenuity we can overcome anything.
2. We are not victims.
3. Challenge yourself and those around you to bring a positive attitude to work.
4. Treat the people you meet as friends - not as simple business acquaintances.

And the final lesson of the week - you can probably guess.  The problems that we face within our daily lives are pretty insignificant when compared to the reality of a war hero’s story!

Adversity is a gift - oh, really!  In a nutshell, yes.  Think about it, if you got everything that you wanted in life, when you wanted it, would you be the person you are today?  I would venture to place a wager that you are just like me and that many of the lessons that you have learned, that make you better at what you do today, came out of situations that went wrong.  Those times that you crashed into the wall and had to pick up the pieces to make it right.  Those are the lessons where you learn what not to do - and aren’t they some of the most important lessons you have learned?

We are not victims!  I’m not saying that things don’t go wrong - they do.  I’m not saying that sometimes someone else may have caused the pain your feeling - they will.  I am saying that each of us has within us the power to change the rules of the game that is being played.  We are not some pawn in a whack-a-mole game that has no choice but to raise our head above the playing surface, just to be smacked down with a hammer.  Each of us the ability to learn and to make choices that allow us to change the trajectory of the path we are on.  We do not have to accept the status quo.

Bring a positive attitude to work!  This is actually tougher than it sounds.  Work is not easy.  We don’t always get along with the people that we spend time with,   Our customers can be demanding.  The piles of work in our queue get larger and larger.  Where does it stop?  Let’s be clear - it won’t stop, but if we manage it right, we can reduce the chaos.  Most of this is prioritizing and realizing what it is we need to work on and what stuff can wait.  In fact - maybe we need to spend some time to stop doing things that don’t matter anymore.  If we truly focus on putting our effort into those things that matter, maybe we’ll be able to smile a little more at work.  To help, we also need to get those around us to smile and be happy.  That means we must talk within our teams and change from the inside out.  One of the speakers showed that it was not necessarily knowledge or effort that allowed a company to accelerate growth - but culture and attitude.  Believing you can win and creating a positive team culture that reinforces the good.

Treat the people you meet as friends!  Many of us - myself included - have grown up in a formal business environment.  This is actually hurting us.  Think about it, how does it make you feel when you greet a friend that you haven’t seen in years!  I’m betting that there is more there than a stiff handshake and a formal greeting - ‘Barb, nice to see you again after all these years.”  So, how do you think your customers feel when they walk into your place of business and receive a simple hello?  Does that make them want to stay?  Do they want to sign a new contract with you?  Do they go out and actively promote your products or services to others in the community?  

At the end of the week, I had the fortune of listening to a decorated war hero - who, with five days left in his tour of duty, was shot down over enemy territory, captured, tortured and held captive for six years.  He spoke softly of his experiences and more importantly the traits that allowed him to live through that experience and come back home.  What allowed him to survive in an 8’x8’ cell with no toilet, no creature comforts and no communication with the outside world.  He was able to weave the lessons of life into his story - how conversations with his high school teachers and coaches were brought in to a new light based on his captivity.  How his personal faith allowed him to persevere and survive captivity.

Folks, the problems that I deal with on a day to day basis, don’t hold a candle to the problems that this man faced in a cell in North Vietnam.  Suddenly, the pressures of decisions that need to be made to move projects through the enterprise and manage my teams don’t feel as significant.

Tags: #management  #leader #workgroup

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