Musings at Altitude

Thank you John Maxwell for this posting:

Just wanted to talk about baloney

Priceless!

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Fascinating.

With age, my hearing seems to decline, but the whispers seem to get louder.

Does that make sense?

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I’m not sure I know what perfection is!

It certainly isn’t how much I get accomplished in any given day.

It certainly isn’t a deal that is constructed which provides compromises for both sides.

It certainly isn’t the sun in the morning, the blizzard mid day, and then the blue skies in the late afternoon.

It certainly isn’t the things I think are the right path, when others obviously know a better one.

It certainly isn’t the way I treat those who frustrate me, or the things I think about those who irritate me, or the things I ignore when others are in need, or the things that gentle whisper asks me to do and I quickly refuse and move on.

So what is perfection?

Maybe it’s a path and not a state?

Let’s consider this definition – “perfection is a faith filled quest to fulfill our purpose, to achieve our God given path and plan, and to live our lives in the service of our Creator and in the admiration and respect for His creation.”

Since perfection is not possible, and being perfect has only been demonstrated and achieved once in the known history of the world, then maybe I can settle for a quest and not a state.

I think I can live with that.

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That’s how many air miles I covered in the last 10 days – 23,000.  44 hours in the air, and another 16 hours in airport terminals.  One and a half work weeks in travel status. 

And I loved every minute and every mile of it, because the air miles and the terminal time were essential to me getting to my destination, experiencing things I never could experience on this side of the world, and then completing my journey.

On the plane home, the gentleman sitting next to me said that he wouldn’t go anywhere that required more than 8 hours of travel time.

I pondered that for a few minutes, and then realized that his travel radius would automatically eliminate most of the world.  It would also eliminate several different modes of transportation. 

I couldn’t do that.

In fact, I’m not sure I could set any parameters or restrictions on what I’d do.

This world is too awesome.

The people of this world are too special.

The uniqueness of each country and each culture create a fascination that attracts, not restricts.

Restrictions are self generated.  They deny us some experiences that are only one more hour beyond that self imposed limitation.

Here’s to those who have few restrictions and thus limitless experiences!

I applaud you!

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I’m sitting in a hotel room on the other side of the world, and just turned on the TV to find Miami playing New Orleans in basketball.  Miami, of course, has the “big 3”, and they are expected to win.  But New Orleans has a new front office, new coach, and new team, and they are undefeated early in this season.

Because of the hype, I would have loved to see this live.

But I couldn’t.

And I found out who won several hours ago.

Watching it now has very little interest to me now that I know who won.

Unfortunately, that same feeling flows over into business as well.

I have a hard time watching the replays when I already know the outcome.

But businesses need those who can sit and watch after the fact.

You don’t get better without them.

So here’s to those who can watch the game after they know the outcome.

We dreamers admire you.

Businesses desperately need you.

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Throughout our lives, we set priorities.  We learn about studying instead of blowing it off to attend that concert that we’ve wanted to go to for what seems like forever (for me it was Jimmy Buffet).  We learn about passing on that extra special chocolate decadence cake to focus on the extra benefit we’ll receive in wellness and fitness.  We decide which bill needs to be paid and how much and when, knowing that one can wait while another must be paid now.  We look at the seemingly hundreds of things that need to be done at work and pick which one must be done first and then let the others slip just a bit.  And we ponder hard whether to go to that parent-teachers conference or spend that extra hour working on something else that may at that time seem just a little bit more important at that time.

We all make decisions based on our priorities every single day…in fact, every single minute of each day.  For example, at this very moment, I’ve prioritized blogging about priorities rather than reading the overly complicated explanation of all the ballot initiatives that the state of Colorado put out.  Earlier, I prioritized going to the bowling alley to watch my wife bowl over going to a Starbucks and focusing on those few extra emails that I could get through before the evening is done.  And later this evening, I’ll prioritize getting on the treadmill over sitting quietly and reading a book or preparing for tomorrow’s heavy workload.

But this evening is not typical for me.

In any given day, at any given time, I’ll think back on the previous hours of that day and realize that something I desperately wanted to do or things that definitely needed to be done just didn’t…because I prioritized something else ahead of them.  And with each passing year, I commit to getting better, trying new things, planning more aggressively, learning new skills, and in spite of it all, I still sit late in the day fully realizing that something extremely important did not get done. 

Honestly, I fail miserably at prioritizing.

One enemy of priorities is distractions…anything that at any particular moment becomes more fun, more intriguing, more stimulating, or more scintillating than the long list of critically important things that sit so patiently on that long list waiting to be accomplished.  The friend of distractions is fascination…an overwhelming interest in anything but what you’re supposed to be doing, and an intrigue with the possibility of what could be when there is no real commitment to what is.

Another enemy of priorities is compulsions…those things that just have to be done at certain times in certain ways even when so many other things need to be done first or need to be done differently.  The friend of compulsions is impulsiveness…an involuntary but habitual reaction based on emotion rather than logic and defying priorities rather than supporting them.

When the distractions and compulsions are high (just about all the time for me), here’s what I have to do to have any hope of adhering to the priorities:

     (1) identify the top priorities and post them somewhere prominent so guilt flows when they aren’t getting done

     (2) of the top 4 or 5, identify the easiest and get it done as quickly as possible to establish a momentary track record of getting important things accomplished

     (3) for the hardest of the top priorities, focus on the consequences of not getting them done and ensure that those consequences are known by others that can also encourage you and hold you accountable

     (4) reward yourself when any of the priorities are accomplished or even when some small steps towards achievement of the ultimate goals are made

I bet these sound like no brainers to many of you, but it’s amazing how much they help those of us who suffer from the twin enemies of distraction and compulsion. 

So here’s a toast to each of you who effectively prioritize your day to day activities!

I’m jealous!

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Today’s sermon was from Jeremiah 18 – these particular verses:

“Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.”  Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel.  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:  “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord.  “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!”

What powerful verses and what incredible imagery.  God takes the marred clay which each of us is and remolds us into a specific vessel for His specific purpose.

I’d like to take that specific vision of our Creator taking that imperfect vessel and reshaping it into something of beauty and overlay that vision on business.  In business, we too metaphorically create some pots, buy some pots, or inherit some pots, and those that are flawed, we reshape on our own potter’s wheel into vessels that benefit and drive the business forward.  Some business leaders are incredible potters and know how to use that potter’s wheel to perfection.  They take lumps in some cases, imperfect vessels in others, and sometimes perfect vessels but wrong vessels for the particular need and shape all of them into the vessels that are needed to achieve the dramatic results that are expected from the business at that particular time.  Other business leaders though are far from potters with very little creativity at all.  Those that are less than creative but still good leaders fill their team with others that can “spin that potter’s wheel” and shape the people and thus the company into what is needed to achieve business success.  They too use the skills of those master craft’s people to fill the shelves with as nearly a perfect mix of specifically created vessels to meet the needs of the business.

We are all, in some form or fashion, clay that is being shaped into what is needed for our specific purpose.  In the hands of our Creator, we are shaped and formed to serve Him by serving others.  In the hands of our business leaders, we are shaped as program managers, business developers, bill payers, people managers, or a wide range of other specifically needed talents that fill particular needs at particular times.  Regardless of age, level of experience, or role in the organization, as the business changes, our roles change, and we’re reshaped to be the right vessel for the role that is needed.

I’m awed by our Creator and His wonderful hands that shape us, remove our flaws, and perfect us as the vessels that are then filled to overflowing with His love.  I’m also awed by those business leaders that take a team and mold them, overcome their shortcomings, and achieve dramatic results through the hands on work they do in shaping each one of us.

I’m grateful for the patience and forgiveness of our Creator as He works in amazing ways to mold me into who He expects me to be.

I’m also grateful in a very different but also meaningful way to those business leaders who have taken an interest in me throughout the years and patiently (sometimes fervently) shaped me into what they need in order to achieve business success.

Here’s to the clay that we each are and the very meaningful vessels we each become!

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I visit what must be hundreds of companies a year…4 or 5 a week…50 or so weeks a year.

Some of them are visibly demonstrating incredible motivation right now, sensing the worst of times behind us and looking forward with great optimism.

Others though have D.I.E.D.  — dysfunction, indifference, and endless denial – D.I.E.D.

This chronic condition is self inflicted, and medicine can’t cure it.

Radical surgery might, and removal or replacement of limbs may be essential to survival.

In the worst of times, defibrillation may prolong but not necessarily save the organization.

When limbs are replaced by vibrant and optimistic contributors, those limbs revive much of the organization.  The more that are replaced, the stronger the life of the new body.

In the coming months and years, limb replacement surgery will dominate and define organizational recovery.

The market is already strong.

It will get much stronger!

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Many folks are desperately desiring change.

The job sucks.

Their boss sucks.

They have no time to do the things they want to do.

They see no path to get the things they need to create the change they think is possible.

Undoubtedly times are hard and finding or doing the optimum thing to make you happy is tough right now.

But what if we were able to put all that discontent aside for just a bit and focus only on doing the current job incredibly well.

In that time of intense focus, what might happen?

Could we find a new champion or advocate because of our passion and pursuit of doing great work?

Could we find some success that may have been elusive or hidden because of our frustration before?

Could we possibly have those who we may have been invisible to before sense the change that has occurred and wonder what might have caused that change?

In tough times, I bet about 75% of us are anxious to be doing something different because what is being done isn’t necessarily perfect or rewarding or appealing or affirming.

But if half of those 75% put that discontent aside for now and focus on going that extra mile to make themselves superstars in their current job and the company better because of their passionate work, then a majority of folks in any company at this current point in time would be pulling together to do something amazing.

That would be awesome.

And now is the time.

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What would you like to do more of?

For me, it’s the four L’s.

Love.

Learn.

Live.

Listen.

I struggle at loving those that I’m supposed to love.  Christ gave us the ultimate example of love…even to death…even His enemies…even those unlovable people in His life which He knew would eventually participate in His crucifixion.  I struggle mightily with any and all of those.

I struggle at learning.  I’ll do the exact same thing multiple times expecting a different outcome and get upset when the exact same thing happens again.  I’ll go to the exact same place 5 times or more and still not know how to get there.  I’ll read a chapter in a book that is completely obvious to others and not have a clue as to what they are talking about.  Yes indeed…I struggle with learning.

I struggle at living.  I’m so involved in work or doing things that supposedly prevent me from living that I really don’t take the needed time to actually live.  Then I blame my inability to live on things that are typically completely within my control.  Yep…I struggle at living.

And I struggle mightily at listening.  I’ll be actively looking at an individual that is passionately telling me something, and 5 minutes later I have no idea what in the world he may have said.  I’m ashamed to admit that I’m easily distracted and just don’t listen.

So I pray that I will love, learn, live and listen more, and in so doing, become much more like the man God wants me to be.

How about you?

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