Musings at Altitude

Other than about 30 hours at home last weekend, I’ve been on the road for two straight weeks.  I still have one more flight to go, then 70 miles to drive, and then I finally get the peace and serenity that I’m seeking now with 3 days at home before heading out for another flight.  It’s been a fascinating two weeks in business, in the markets, in politics, and in life. 

In business, we had summits and major partner meetings, strategy sessions and anything but strategy discussions, board meetings and senior leadership conferences…in many ways, all of these were influenced by the markets, politics, and life.

In world and national markets, the collapse of major financial institutions intensified and Congress finally stepped in to shore up the markets and rebuild some trust from the American people.  The uncertainty has wreaked havoc for most businesses as the needed capital to expand and grow may no longer be available and the investments that may have been made just months ago may now be put on hold as everyone does a reset and attempts to understand the affects on their current activities and future plans.

In politics, the halo affect from Governor Palin being added to the McCain ticket ended as she performed poorly on a couple of major interviews but then some of the glow came back as she exceeded expectations in the VP debate (expectations were incredibly low).  Senator Obama had pushed his lead out to 8-10 points prior to the debate, but some people think that there still may be a couple of breaths left in the tank for McCain after last night’s debate.  In business and in life, most of us are looking forward and strategizing how a change in administration will affect us.  One thing’s for sure – we’re going to change, and in that change, all of us in some way will be affected.

And in life, my youngest had her first homecoming and my son announced he’s going to be a father.  I was expecting the first and totally unprepared for the second.  I made it through the first, but I’m still coming to grips with the second.  As with the markets and politics, life oftentimes throws us curve balls that catches us on our back legs and unable to swing the bat.  Eventually over time, we’ll adjust and catch up to that curve ball, but it’s never easy.

As I think about all these things during my travels home, I smile at most and then stress over a few, but in all things I get a big kick and a reminder of the beauty of life from my granddaughter.  Here is her message to me and my message to you as I hurry to get on the plane:

It’s so good to keep everything in perspective!