Musings on a Monday Morning from Mike Mullin…
The weekly Newsletter of Without A Vision Consultancy LLC
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June 8, 2020
Good morning! Happy Birthday #24 to our youngest daughter! She is an Environmental Scientist seeking meaningful work. Though not true of the surrounding area, our little neighborhood has had a darth of moisture the last several months, but Saturday night brought 3/4″ of much-needed rain. When you think about it, the greatest risk is standing still — or staying neutral. Quit waiting for things to get better (passive/ fatalistic) — and work to make them better (visionary/ optimistic). A neutron walks into a bar and asks the price of a drink. “For you, no charge,” replies the bartender. (Sorry, that never gets old.)
- My brother died of leukemia thirty years ago.
- He and I were not estranged, but nearly so; we had not seen each other or visited in many years — my fault, not his.
- I received the phone call on a Thursday afternoon. I remember because I had an important Board meeting later that same evening, something I wouldn’t consider missing.
- But the message from the caller was clear, “Your brother has just a few hours left.”
- Emotions I had not previously experienced welled within me.
- Almost as a knee-jerk reaction I reached out to a friend and mentor.
- Among the more consequential relationships in my life has been Alfred Stangl of happy memory.
- Alfred is a legend around these parts; I first met him 46 years ago.
- I told him about my brother and asked what I should do. Without hesitation he said, “Go see him.”
- It was to be a three hour drive after a long meeting leaving my wife and five young children behind.
- After the Board meeting ended I took off for the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, making the drive in darkness and arriving at my brother’s bedside after midnight.
- My Dad was there in the eerily quiet, darkened room as he had apparently been for a few days already.
- I was completely inexperienced at encountering the dying, I had no skills whatsoever. I was a deer in headlights.
- “Go see him,” Alfred had said — and so I did. My brother died two days later.
- I hadn’t stayed at his side for long, I was too uncomfortable and felt stupid.
- I was much happier at being put to work as the fill-in manager of my Dad’s little general store in a rural village about 15 miles away — and so I comforted myself by making myself useful.
- I could open-up the store in the morning, make coffee, close-up, count the cash, make a bank deposit, stock a few shelves, monitor shoplifting, do payroll, all those important things.
- And so that’s what I did as my Dad did the much more heroic thing of staying with my brother.
- But, without Alfred I would have never even thought of going to see my brother. (I’ve grown a bit since Alfred’s lesson, though imperfectly.)
- My Dad later told me, “David said he appreciated that you came to visit.”
- I didn’t hear his words except second-hand, but I’ve never forgotten the lesson learned.
- My brother must have forgiven me by whispering those few words to my Dad with what strength he had left.
- That experience thirty years ago helps me to understand — and to empathize with — the hundreds of thousands of people gathering in the streets — throughout Minnesota, the United States, and worldwide — in memory of and in solidarity with George Floyd.
- “Go see him, go see him.”
- The throngs can’t literally go see him, but they can come close by gathering together and by remembering his name — a virtual and vicarious visceral experience.
- That’s what all those people are doing; they’re going to see George.
- Maybe something good and wonderful will come of all this.
- What do you get when you work with Without a Vision Consultancy LLC?
- We listen, we learn, we listen some more — and then we customize our response to deliver:
- Confidence
- Clarity
- Coaching
- Companionship on your journey… sometimes it gets lonely and it’s good to have a friend.
When you tell others about us — and I hope you will — please emphasize the ways in which we are unique.
I work with individuals, governance structures (Boards), non-profits, and businesses wanting to be bigger, better, stronger, healthier, happier… yes, all five are possible and best done in concert, but it typically requires a coach (consultant) or a companion to help illuminate the path.
At Without a Vision Consultancy LLC we LISTEN, we LEARN, we LISTEN some more, and only then do we suggest strategic directions unique to your situation. We do not bring a one-size-fits-all template, nor the latest flash-in-the-pan solutions, to working with you. As we work with you we deliver and provide an increase in your CONFIDENCE, and CLARITY while providing coaching and companionship for your journey. We bring more than fifty years of experience from all sides of the Board table in thirteen different leadership roles — 26 of those years as a CEO.
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