Musings at Altitude

I’m on the road, and every evening when I get to my hotel room I turn on the TV, scan the news channels and sit down and smile as I see all the incredible signs of “authority with no accountability” (AWNA) and remember back to so many other examples of AWNA throughout my career. 

I see AWNA in our Congress where they pass legislation with such great authority and then avoid any accountability when bad things happen even when it’s a direct result of the legislation that’s passed!  I’ve also seen AWNA in the military where headquarters with specific missions to “organize, train and equip” step over those bounds and engage in operations planning.  They then force execution in accordance with that plan but ultimately have no accountability for whether it can be effectively executed or not.  And I’ve seen it constantly in business, where bureaucracy rules the day and bureaucrats set policy or boldly establish expectations and yet they typically have no accountability for the results that then must be achieved.

To me there’s a simple solution.  Anyone in a position of authority must publish and daily track their actions leading up to and through the execution of the mission that was defined and enacted based on that authority.  In addition, any person in a position of authority must define clearly up front the expected outcomes and then hold themselves jointly accountable for that outcome with those then accountable for executing the mission.  And finally, if for any reason the outcome is not what was envisioned at the time of the authoritative mandate, then both the one in authority and the ones executing the mission will then be held accountable and be called to answer for any shortcomings.  Finger pointing and blame will not be allowed.  Both those in authority and those executing the mission will be held accountable.  Period.

A couple of good things will happen because of this:

1. those in authority will quickly see a need to fully coordinate and fully cooperate with those who must execute the mission
2. those executing the mission will have less contempt for those in authority and maybe more respect since there is now shared accountability for the execution

This could truly revolutionize bureaucracy.  Today, there is great comfort in making sensational statements about savings or earnings when there is no tie between the bureaucrat and any ability for execution against those irrational expectations.  And yet those sensational statements spin throughout the bureaucracy being further sensationalized and in many cases memorialized in the budgetary promises and net income expectations of the organization. 

Accountability de-sensationalizes any expectations and drives humility into any projections.  Accountability creates a desperate desire to share the planning process and share the burden of defining the expected outcomes.  Accountability forces an organization to critically assess both those performing the mission and thus creating the income as well as those overseeing the portfolio and establishing the expectations.

AUTHORITY WITH ACCOUNTABILITY – what a novel concept.

Comments Off on AWNA

I’ve been up close to some very powerful people in my life.  Those include leaders of nations, leaders of Fortune 100 companies, leaders of large military organizations, and even billionaires who had lost millions and made millions in their lives.  Each of these people had what some would say is “ultimate power”…they could make decisions that risked lives, risked jobs, risked millions if not billions of dollars, and risked national or international credibility.  Each of these people in their own way had a level of confidence and even arrogance that allowed them to seemingly abstract themselves from those who were affected by their decisions and in some ways create an emotional immunity to the possible consequences of the actions they were taking.  Certainly, they were each very human in their own way; but equally as certain, they each recognized and realized the power they had and leveraged it in both good and sometimes not so good ways.

As I’ve watched supposedly powerful people over the years, I’ve come to realize that the amount of power does not depend on the position, or the wealth, or the control over life and death of these individuals.  Instead, their power came from the authority vested in them by others who selected them, elected them, or supported them into the positions they then filled.  So the power wasn’t of their own making, but instead, it was something granted to them or enabled for them by others (even the billionaire). 

For each of the powerful people, a substantial percentage of those working directly with, for, or under them had very negative comments about those in the most powerful of all positions.  Each of them had those loyalists who supported and defended them at all costs.  But all of them had their critics and many of them had those who once supported them now aggressively opposing them.

So I’ve been thinking.  What would happen if we defined ultimate power as something very different than position or wealth?  What if we defined ultimate power as those individuals exhibiting these traits:

• weaknesses showing
• smiles breaking
• tears falling
• team building
• conflict resolving
• credit giving
• blame accepting
• help requesting
• prayers uplifting
• ego shelving

Wouldn’t that be cool?  I certainly think so.  And better yet, what if ultimate power was based on ultimate understanding of the consequences of decisions and then emotional mirroring of those who are impacted by the actions and decisions of those powerful people?  I wonder if the decisions and actions might have been different for any of these individuals if such mirroring did indeed exist.

Proverbs 16:19 says – “Better it is to be of a humble spirit with the lowly than to divide the spoil with the proud.”

The traits above don’t spring from a fountain of arrogance, but instead they come from a foundation of great humility.  Real power comes from real humility.  Real power comes from a real respect for those that have entrusted the decision making authority to you.  Real power comes from a very real understanding of the consequences of decisions and actions.  And ultimate power comes from the ultimate realization that we are all ultimately accountable for those decisions and actions.

Comments Off on Ultimate Power

Many people believe that “bad things happen in 3’s”.  My wife is one of them.  When a celebrity dies, she starts her count, and she assumes that two more will die quickly once one is announced in the news.  Most of the time she’s right, and when that 4th one dies, the 3-count starts over again.

In business, it’s no different.  We have many sayings meaning the same thing – “when it rains, it pours’; “get ready, this won’t be the last issue that comes up”; “we’re not at bottom yet”; “one step forward, two steps back”; etc.  All of these sayings and many of our beliefs point to the theory of 3’s – bad things happen in bunches, and until the bunches occur, the bad things won’t stop happening.

I DON’T BELIEVE THIS!  I just wanted to make it clear where I stand on this issue!

I do believe in business quicksand though.  When something goes wrong, it magnifies the next thing that may go wrong, and the harder we struggle the deeper we sink.  Eventually, we end up focusing solely on those things going wrong and we can’t see the things going right.  All of our efforts are spent flailing for the path out of the quicksand, when in reality, firm footing may be just one focused step away.

So what do I believe in?  I believe in the wonderful power of positive thinking.  I believe in the accelerating momentum of little things being done right.  I believe in the beauty of quick reaction to negative events and the short memory once fix actions have been put in place.  And I believe that all teams at their core desperately want to win, and somebody on that team knows the path out of any quicksand that may occur.

I also believe in a self-fulfilling prophecy.  When we believe bad things are going to happen, then that’s exactly what happens.  So I’m going to err on the side of something good is going to happen today.

Just in case any or all of this is true!

Comments Off on 3’s

We had a wonderful service at church today which started with the hymn, “How Great Thou Art”.  I started smiling as we finished the first verse and chorus and moved into the second verse, because that says in a nutshell what I truly feel when I’m staring into or up on the mountains:

When through the woods and forest glades I wander,

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,

And see the brook and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee,

How great thou art, how great thou art.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee,

How great thou art, how great thou art.

If you haven’t heard this wonderful song in a while, here’s a special version from someone most of you know:

How Great Thou Art

As I listen to the song, look back over the pictures, and remember the incredible serenity I felt on the top of those hills, I can’t help but praise our Creator and thank Him for giving me that peace this weekend.  I went from that serenity to a wonderful worship experience at church today.  And I went from church to a relaxing yet strenuous 4 mile walk with Denise, staring into the mountains the entire time, listening to Il Divo on my iPod, and feeling that gentle breeze that is seemingly always present in the foothills of the Rockies.

This was one of those weekends I constantly yearn for.  I had my priorities right.  I focused on all those things that are important to me in my life, with a priority on family and faith this weekend.  And I feel relaxed and revived now.

I want to capture this…it happens way too rarely for me!

Comments Off on Mountain Grandeur

It’s staggering how quickly babies grow.

Here’s then (just under 7 months ago):

And here’s now (just over a week ago):

Wouldn’t it be cool if all of us changed equally as fast throughout our lives?  And what we were just six months ago may be very different than who and what we are today?

That would make for some interesting times in our later years when folks think we can’t change our stripes and “what you see is what you get”.

Comments Off on Then and Now

We went up into the mountains today to view God’s magnificent creation, to find serenity, and to go snow tubing.  We accomplished all 3, and I wanted to share these pictures with you:

And the fun wasn’t limited to the teenagers.  Denise and I also went up and down the hill enough times to make joints sore and the bones creak.  We did have a favorite time during this grand adventure…when the cable did all the work for us!

That’s Denise with her back to us and Megan next in line looking up the hill!

I’ve mentioned so many times how the mountains of Colorado give me such a sense of awe.

I experienced that awe again today.

I found the serenity I needed.

I reached out today and for just a moment touched nirvana!

Isaiah 40:31 says…

Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

They will run and not grow weary;

They will walk and not be faint.

Today, I soared on wings like eagles.  And it was beautiful.

Comments Off on Serenity

Words can’t describe my feelings when I watch and listen to this video.

Amazing Grace

Chills.  Tears.  Thanks.  Wonderful grace.  Love.  Smiles.

2 Comments »

After a quick in and out in Vegas on Wednesday night and Thursday, I wanted to get to bed early on Thursday night when I got to Houston.  But I couldn’t!  I turned on ESPN and began watching one of the most fascinating and exciting games I’ve ever watched on TV.  If you’re a sports nut, you too probably watched Syracuse versus UCONN in the Big East Tournament.  If you’re not a fanatic, this game may have even kept you glued to the TV and then caused you too to be semi-zombie like today!

For those very few people in this country that may not know what happened, Syracuse just about won the game in regulation with a last second 3 pointer that ended up being disallowed after video review showed it left the tips of the fingers only milliseconds after time ran out.  It then took 6 overtime periods for Syracuse to finally wrap up a victory.  In each of the first 5 overtimes, either team could have won but neither team made that crucial shot at that critical time.  In that 6th overtime though, Syracuse pulled away and then won by a comfortable margin.

As I think back to that critical shot at the end of regulation that just didn’t get off on time, I can’t help but think that many teams and many people would have been so dejected when the referee waved off that shot that they would have moped into that overtime and lost by a wide margin.  But Syracuse didn’t do that.  They came out fighting as if they expected to win, and they eventually did beat the number 4 team in the country.

In business today, companies get rejected at the last second and then they too have a choice to make – either mope and let that dejection adversely affect your operations for days, weeks or months to come; or come out fighting in any potential overtime period that you have and focus on overcoming whatever setback occurred and as a team achieve victory.  Way too many folks are moping today.  Now is the time for focused action after any adversity.

PS.  After finally winning in the 6th overtime during the wee hours of this morning, Syracuse went back on the court this evening to play another incredibly strong team in West Virginia.  That game too then went into overtime (only 1 this time though), and once again Syracuse prevailed.  Winning is most certainly an attitude, and Syracuse, on two consecutive nights, has shown us what it means to be winner.

Comments Off on Unbelievable

Tomorrow is a big milestone for me…it’s the one year anniversary of my first blog, which was an admission that I needed to vent, and in venting I’d find therapy, and in therapy I’d find peace.  And you know what?  It worked. 

Over the last year, I posted 313 blogs (counting this one), some of which were guest written by my 14 year old daughter.  For those 313 blogs, I got 53 different comments (several of which were for the blogs that my daughter wrote).  And I also got 246 spam comments, which were obviously never posted.

I’ve written blogs from locations all over this country, to include the Deep South and even North of the Arctic Circle.  I’ve talked about my deep aversion to bureaucracy, as well as my deep awe for God’s magnificent creation.  I’ve written blogs in the middle of the night, first thing in the morning, and early in the evening.  I’ve written about business, life and faith, and sometimes all three at the same time.  I’ve talked about my shortcomings and weaknesses and shared with you my desperate desire to be a much better leader, follower, father, husband, son, brother and friend.

Over the next year, I hope to blog even more (unbelievable as it may sound), and I want to bring you into helping me become a better person overall.  It’s perfectly fine to put into print my desire to improve, but it’s a pretty meaningless gesture if I don’t establish some form of accountability. 

This next year of blogging will be a year of accountability.  That will be interesting.  That will be exciting.  That will be motivating. 

That will truly be therapy!

1 Comment »

With the change in time this past weekend, I now wake up in the dark, and as I walk outside with the dog for her morning sniff around the yard, I see the faint outline of the sun approaching from the East and the dark outline of the slowly lighting mountains in the West.  But this morning, there was light from the West while still darkness in the East.  When I walked down the path to the back of my house, I was greeted with this picture:

Ten minutes later, I came back to the house after dropping my daughter off at the bus stop, and the beautiful moon was very quickly departing:

We live at 6,700 feet with our western view highlighted by the mountains.  With no obstructions, I watched the moon set this morning at a staggering pace.  When I walked to my home office to get the camera, the moon was still fully visible above the mountains.  When I got to the back deck with the camera for that second picture, the moon had gone from fully visible to barely visible, in just a matter of seconds, not even minutes.  By the time I got done taking a second picture, the moon was completely gone.

I stand in awe of God’s magnificent creation, and I marvel as I watch those things so perfectly stationed in time and space as they so clearly remind me that this world we live in could not have evolved without a plan and a planner.  There was most certainly a master design, and more importantly, a Master designer and creator.  I just can’t mentally embrace all of this beauty and all of these wonders just happening by accident.

As I sit here looking at these pictures now in my morning time of prayer, I remember this song by Henry Smith:

Give thanks with a grateful heart,

Give thanks to the holy one,

Give thanks because he’s given,

Jesus Christ his son.

And now, let the weak say “I am strong”,

Let the poor say “I am rich”,

Because of what the Lord has done for us.

Give thanks.

And for the beauty of this creation and for the incredible love of our Creator, I too give thanks.

Comments Off on A Beautiful Sight