Patience and Persistence along Parallel Paths

June 6, 2022

Good morning!

Another two of the Greatest from the Greatest Generation have fallen:  Loretta (Ketten/ Schroeder) Pfannenstein, just 82-years-old.  May she rest in peace.

Jerry Thoreen, just 89-years-old; may he rest in peace.

Jerry was among my mentors; he taught me how to work with a Board, how to recruit the best people, and how to run good meetings.

• It’s been 78 years since the D-Day invasion of Normandy.
  • Unless the soldier (or civilian advisor/ news correspondent/ observer) is 96-years-old or older, none is still around to remember…
  • … unless they lied about their age — and many did, my Dad did, but his war was in the Pacific, not Europe.
  • Still, those of us who can — do.
• It is also the anniversary of our marriage, high noon on D-Day.
  • We astounded most people when we decided to marry, including the two different guys who sent a dozen roses to her on the very day we got engaged.
  • Timing is everything; theirs was lousy.
  • “Don’t overthink it,” now a popular aphorism, might have originated with us.
  • We had known each other for just thirteen (13) days.
  • Among the things about which we fight endlessly is whether it has been 41 or 42 years — or maybe 43.
  • For those who bet against us, so far you’ve lost.
• For a precious few days each spring the Lily of the Valley release an indescribably sweet and sensuous aroma.
  • The wafts of gentle perfume on the breezes are so pleasant and intoxicating one wants to stop everything and simply sniff.
• Here’s one for you:  We purchase five times (5x) more clothing today than in 1980. (WSJ, 2022)
• What are you reading?  Many are turning to — or returning to — the 2015 classic, Grit (Duckworth, 2015)
  • I grabbed it off the shelf because I wanted to be reminded what the renewed interest was all about.
  • One could make the argument it’s mostly about character, but Duckworth explains grit is a sub-category of character (pp. 273-274);
  • With a nod to some of our readers, the book is worth a read as a reminder that much (all?) of life is still about getting up in the morning and purposefully putting one foot in front of the other — and then doing it again tomorrow — and the next day, and the next…

Patience and Persistence along Parallel Paths

• Many years ago I coined a phrase that, as far as I knew then — and still know now — uniquely summarized common thoughts about work:
  • Patience and Persistence along Parallel Paths
  • The phrase came to me as I was preparing to teach a small group of people about leadership.
  • Though I didn’t know the vernacular about inputs and outcomes at the time, those are at the core of the watchwords.
  • i.e., do everything you can with those things under your control, don’t worry much about the other stuff, and be patient for the results to come your way.
  • At first glance, patience and persistence appear as opposites; in truth, they’re symbiotic.
• As you know by now, The Smithsonian rarely disappoints.
  • I’m one edition behind, but holy cow, April/May 2022 is way above average:
    • Offshore Wind Power;
    • The contributions of the Chinese to Lincoln’s intercontinental railroad;
    • Norse invaders to the British Isles;
    • Move to rural Italy for only $1 — actually, only one Euro, but this typewriter doesn’t have an Euro sign — nor a Bitcoin sign.
• If murmuring is the #1 problem (challenge) associated with most organizations, then pouting must be a close second.
  • Unaddressed, disaster is looming.