January 10, 2022
Good morning! We begin the morning in double digits; the #10 of January and -15 degrees (F). A beautiful cardinal just perched outside my window for a few moments. I didn’t know this until two or three years ago when a faithful reader, John, told me a visiting cardinal is a deceased loved one who comes for a visit. Trouble is, which one?
- And, speaking of death, another one of the giants has fallen — at only age #84.
- Peter Froehle of physics fame.
- Pete taught more physics in a day than most did in a year.
- He did it by providing experiences in natural phenomena while inviting students to figure stuff out like Newton or Curie or Galilei did.
- Only later would he introduce and apply the onerous mathematical formulas and theories… but first, why does this pendulum swing in the way it does?
- How and why do you suppose Albert wrestled with this?
- Rest in peace, Pete! May you now know ALL the answers.
What Constitutes an Emergency?
- Very few situations constitute an emergency.
- Back in the day, when teaching First Aid as provided by The American Red Cross, we learned there were three (3) so-called Hurry Cases and everything else less so.
- Stoppage of breathing
- Poisoning
- Arterial bleeding
- Any one of those three constituted an emergency.
- Compound fracture? Serious, but take your time and do it right.
- Heat stroke? Very serious, but take your time and do it right.
- Unconscious, but none of the three Hurry Cases evident? Concerning, but take your time and do it right.
- Have you ever wondered why firefighters don’t run, scurry about, bark orders, or scramble up ladders?
- They’re taught — and they rehearse — to take their time and do it right.
- The reason is you can do more damage than good by rushing unnecessarily or certainly by panicking.
- Take your time and do it right.
- So, what are the parallels to operating a business or to leading an organization?
- Very few situations require emergency behaviour on the part of the leader.
- Fire would, water damage would, loss of electricity would nowadays, the sudden loss of your best customer might, the sudden loss of a number of key employees would.
- But with proper planning and excellent listening (with more than your ears) you will plan for and anticipate most situations that might otherwise result in hurried behaviour.
- Take care to make the best decisions — and take care to gather information from 360 degrees.
- “Attitude is a big thing that makes a big difference. Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts. If you’re going through hell, keep going. Everyone has his (her) day, and some days last longer than others.” (Churchill)
- Said by the coach of the winningest college football program in the nation: “This is the first championship for this team.” (Entz)
- That’s organizational culture for you.
- Want some secret sauce? Study this program.
- “When youth departs may experience prove enough.” (Another throwback to a week of Winston!)
Cultivating a Vision for Your Business
- On the topic of vision… since that’s what this Newsletter is all about:
- “You’ve got to think about big things while you’re doing small things so that all the small things go in the right direction.” Alvin Toffler
- “Leadership is transforming vision into action and sustaining it.” (Bennis)
- “A great leader’s courage to achieve a vision comes from passion and not from position.” (Maxwell) — (though the two need not be at odds.)
- Vision is a destination – a fixed point to which we focus all effort. Strategy is a route – an adaptable path to get us where we want to go.” (Sinek)
- “Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision.” (Ali)
- “A person without a vision for the future always returns to the past.” (Unknown)
- “To become a successful philosopher king, it is much better to start as a king than as a philosopher.” (Taleb via Jordan)
- “Revelry comes to those who make it.” (Crosby)
