Are You Really Seeing the Sunset?

Like almost half of the country, I got away for Spring Break with my wife and a few close friends. It was the trip of a lifetime and it should have been – after all, I just turned 40 and I wanted to celebrate the milestone. So I splurged. We spent a week on a beautiful sailboat cruising the British Virgin Islands (BVI’s), snorkeling, hanging out on the beaches, and eating all the fresh seafood we could handle. A few days into our trip after watching yet another amazing sunset, I found it hard to fully appreciate the experience.

Why? The setting was inspiring. The beauty was amazing. The adventure was gripping. What I realized was that I was incapable of comprehending the magnitude of this experience. It was beyond me. I couldn’t fully appreciate it because I had nothing to do with creating it. I didn’t form the clouds or the seas. I didn’t do anything to set the sun or to usher in such clear blue water. My appreciation was limited by my comprehension. Don’t get me wrong — I truly appreciated the experience. But my lack of comprehension limited my appreciation.

I think this also applies to our everyday lives and our everyday work as well. Just yesterday, I asked several members of the SVI team to stretch themselves on a deliverable. I wanted a piece of work done faster and better for one of our clients. I made the request, but I wasn’t a part of the process. I had no part in creating the deliverable. The team delivered my request and the work was exceptional. In my typical fashion, I grabbed the work, gave a casual “thanks” and then raced out the door to my client meeting. I appreciated the work and the work was great. But only later did I realize that my lack of involvement likely limited my appreciation. I began to imagine some of the members of my staff saying, “he has no idea what went into making that happen.”

Don’t we often experience this in our work? We may be impressed with what someone else produces, but our lack of involvement limits our appreciation. I often find myself overlooking someone else’s big accomplishment because of my lack of exposure. My appreciation often occurs after I hear a client’s reaction to our work, not when I view the work for my own eyes. I can find myself taking the work of others for granted, not fully realizing the effort that went into it. This not only limits my ability to fully acknowledge the value we are providing, but can also have an impact on the sense of value others perceive of their work which can impact future productivity, creativity and the joy they gain from their work. While work quality can stand on its own, the full expression of appreciation generates motivation, inspiration and creativity for the entire team that keeps them going and growing to new levels.

Coming off of my Spring Break trip and experiencing one of the most extraordinary places on earth, I want to do more to appreciate the work of others. I want to be more sensitive to the time and effort that someone else puts forward that I may be completely ignorant to. This perspective is also timely for me as Easter is approaching – comprehending God’s gift of life when I had nothing to do with it.

Let’s do more to appreciate life and the work of others regardless of our involvement. Let’s not allow our lack of understanding to limit our appreciation and the inspiration and joy of others that follows.

Onward!

Tags: appreciation, corporate, culture, Leadership, responsibility, team, thanks

MotherLetter.com is on a Mission

Seth is a successful attorney in one of the leading law firms in the South. Needless to say, he is busy, and his work is important. Seth had a friend who traded a comfortable life and career in the United States for a benevolent cause in Southeast Africa, helping teach impoverished and disease-stricken communities how to farm and, thus, restoring health to these communities. For years, Seth promised to visit his friend and experience the cause. For years, he put it off because of his busy work schedule. But not last year. He finally made time to spend eight days in Southeast Africa with his friend.

And he was changed forever.

Upon his return, Seth and I had dinner with our wives to hear about the adventures in Africa. During dinner, it was easy to see that Seth was not the same. This professional attorney whose job it is to play it cool couldn’t get through the appetizer without breaking down as he told story after story of his experience with the Africans. He gained new perspectives and insights. His views on life were richer and more profound.

Today, through his experience, Seth is a man on a mission. Seth, as a gift to his wife – Amber, began a movement called MotherLetter, an online community for people to share amazing and personal stories of their moms and their mommy experiences. This movement is taking off and connecting moms and their stories all over the world.

Now Seth and Amber are allowing the MotherLetter movement to fight malaria through Compassion International’s malaria intervention fund. I encourage you to get involved in the MotherLetter movement and to help fight malaria by going to www.motherletter.com. Onward!

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If Seth Haines’ story is inspiring to you, Champ him at www.ChampEm.com.

Tags: africa, africans, amber, attorney, champem, champion, haines, help, helping, letter, mission, mom, mommy, mother, motherletter, movement, responsibility, Seth, social, stories, story

Why Championship Companies Follow Walmart’s Lead

Recent business conversations with leaders have been telling of our times. Fear is increasing in corporate cultures, only the safest options are pursued, and it’s back to the basics for most. Businesses seem to be slowly treading closer to commodity models once again – standard, transactional business as usual.

These companies are following the breadcrumbs to the mouth of the hungry wolf. If they don’t wake up, they’ll be eaten.

That’s why my admiration goes to championship companies. I describe championship companies as those who exude three characteristics:

Agility – a strong hunger and aptitude for change
Vision – able to imagine new possibilities and execute towards them
Culture – committed employees, who personally align with their work, respect and develop others, and share ideas openly and often

I work with many companies, but none of them display these three characteristics quite like Walmart. This may surprise you, but I’ve seen this company transform over the last five years and it’s nothing short of amazing. Walmart, as an organization, has a soul. This company is mission-minded and bold.

Walmart doesn’t experience change; it hunts it down through continuous restructuring. It doesn’t just envision opportunities, it disrupts precious business models. Walmart doesn’t just talk culture, it embraces the unique contribution of every individual.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina was a significant tragedy for New Orleans and the entire U.S. It was also a tragedy for Walmart. Over 30 of its store operations had been shut down and over 10,000 of its Associates displaced. Even more, Walmart saw the suffering in the communities where the Associates lived. When the community hurts, so does the community Walmart store. Walmart immediately went into crisis management roll. But this time, Walmart went further. Walmart donated millions of dollars and provided helpful services to thousands of people.

This was no flash in the pan effort for Walmart. Experiencing the calamity of Hurricane Katrina impacted former Walmart CEO, Lee Scott, personally as he walked the devastation and worked side by side with Walmart Associates to lend a helping hand. So much so, that on October 2005, Lee delivered a bold speech to Walmart Associates at Walmart’s annual kick off meeting. Bold, because the speech was the beginning of a departure from Walmart’s honored “Every Day Low Prices” practices. Below is an excerpt from that speech.

Katrina asked this critical question, and I want to ask it of you: What would it take for Walmart to be that company, at our best, all the time? What if we used our size and resources to make this country and this earth an even better place for all of us: customers, Associates, our children, and generations unborn? What would that mean? Could we do it? Is this consistent with our business model? What if the very things that many people criticize us for – our size and reach – became a trusted friend and ally to all, just as it did in Katrina?

Walmart is walking the talk. And it’s paying out. Walmart has added 100 new product lines and saved millions of dollars in store operations through their sustainability and diversity efforts. “It’s smart business” says Doug McMillon, CEO of Sam’s Club. “This is business in the 21^st Century. Being a successful business AND a good corporate citizen.”

Walmart’s heritage is respect for the individual, strive for excellence, and serve the customer. But the top global company also understands that its heritage, though timeless, must be made relevant to the times; and therefore, Walmart’s heritage is masterfully being expressed to ever-changing customer needs. And because of it, even today the brand is growing stronger around the globe.

Image Credit: NASA

Tags: championship, Katrina, responsibility, social, Walmart

Anyone Tired From the Times? Do Something About It.

Emotional energy is low, lifestyle challenges are high. And few people are escaping the negative impacts of our times. Life got harder.

So, how have you adjusted?

Hopefully, you’ve adjusted like Americans have throughout history. You aren’t waiting to be saved, bailed out, or granted immunity. You’ve replaced finger pointing and anger with a personal and strong sense of urgency. These aren’t the times for hope, but rather, action. It’s time to bring your intensity to every single day. According to John Kotter, it’s time to elevate your sense of urgency.

…true urgency is a set of emotions, a gut-level feeling that we need to get up every single day with total determination to do something to deal with those hazards and opportunities and make some progress, no matter how modest, and do so today.

Check out the rest of John Kotter’s post on HBSP.

Tags: business, career, champion, economy, harvard, john, kotter, Leadership, life, lifestyle, organizational, responsibility, urgency, work