It occurs to me that one of the reasons I write a weekly blog, is that I get to tell a whole story without being interrupted. There is something satisfying about completing my entire thought without being diverted into someone else’s response/ thoughts before I finished. As someone who listens for a living, it made me curious if others feel that way, too. >
It has been 4 years since the Vistage Members in L.A. county got together for a Vistage Executive Summit, and this was a super event. The hotel was great, staff was so friendly and so competent and it was great to meet Vistage Members who were not in your own group. Every Vistage Member takes at least a day a month to be with their peers working on getting better as leaders and running their organizations. Meeting a room full of fellow Vistage Members, peers who are aligned with your goals to be better in leadership and business is pretty sweet. >
Usually, a situation, perhaps a crisis, demands a leader to merge. In the banking crises of the last 2 week, the FDIC, the Fed, and the President, all who have designated roles, emerged to address the situation. Top bank leaders emerged to back up First Republic (albeit with the deposits that fled to them from First Republic and other regional banks). >
From the time we are born, we are instructed in who we should be to be accepted. We learn not to cry for no reason, how to walk, where and when to eat and pee. Once we learn to talk, we are told when we can talk, when not to talk. As grown ups, we show the world that part of ourselves that is acceptable per our training. All of this leads into a fear of being seen for who we truly are. >
In Vistage we have an exercise called be-do-have where in a particular situation you evaluate
In relation to your goals for 2023, what is your be-do-have strategy? >
Entrepreneurs live like orchids who pull moisture out of the air to survive. They pull an idea out of thin air and make it a reality. They live in an alternate reality of the idea they can see in their heads. And, they make a few other people believe in their dream and become part of it. Usually, they struggle for years to make their dream a reality….sometimes decades. And, if they are successful, one day we all see it and buy their product or service.This is living on hope. >
Duty is not a concept we discuss much these days. With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II of England this week, her example of duty to god and country has been widely honored, and seen as the passing of an era. Did the concept of duty pass with her?
Duty was what got her generation through a great depression and World War II. They committed to the common good against outside forces intent on destroying civilization as they knew it. When she became queen she took on the duty to lead the empire and the church of England.
We grew up with duty through The Pledge of Allegiance, When you become a lawyer or take a political office you pledge allegiance to the US Constitution. As children we learned the boy and girl scout pledges. When you marry, you pledge to be faithful and responsible to your spouse.
Today, we use phrases like take responsibility, keep commitments, be accountable. That generation would have said do your duty. Is it the same thing? I’m not so sure. Duty came from societal norms. We all agreed to follow “the rules”. And by doing so, we would be rewarded for being a good person, and society would be better for it. There was not much tolerance for doing things outside the rules which were dictated to you by tradition, religion and society.
We have come well past the rigidity demanded in those times which is good. We have also accepted a lot of bad behavior in the spirit of doing ones own thing. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine reminds us that we cannot assume the world order will just keep humming along. As much as we don’t like the idea, duty to our fellows and saving the planet will require sacrifice. Elizabeth understood this and leaned into the challenge. It was a life well lived.
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image courtesy of usmagazine.com
Is this you?
If you want to move more quickly as a team, one option is to set earlier deadlines. Or use the agile method that tech companies do. The whole team works together on one project until it is complete, then starts the next one. They iterate fast.
Many, many times a 90% solution is enough. Shoot, that was an A in high school. Why are you beating yourself up to get 100% on everything?
This has been a week of unbelievable, sad, scary and very public miscalculations. The Ukrainians bought Putin’s claim that he wouldn’t invade. Big miscalculation. Putin miscalculated the resolve of the Ukrainian people and the unity and the resolve of NATO. The consequences will be death, destruction and a reordering of the whole world order. At best. >