Musings at Altitude

Did anything happen today where you said “that was very cool”?

A briefing?

An interview?

A meeting?

An expected or unexpected interruption?

A walk with a friend?

A phone call?

An email?

A letter?

A text message?

A sunrise?

A particular view?

A surprise?

An answered prayer?

I tried to count the “very cool” things today, and it was more than a handful and more than I could remember.

Just about everything on this list occurred today.

And as I think about it, just about everything on this list occurs every day!

That in itself is very cool!

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Unfortunately, credentials mean a lot to some people.  Credentials are those things that apparently qualify you in some way for some position or some special purpose.  Credentials are the letters after your name in a signature block, or the self-generated entries that define your history in a resume or bio, or the perpetuating stories of significant success in your past that give credence to what you may be doing today.

Those credentials do matter at times, when they are backed up by recent evidence and experience, but what matters much more than credentials is the credentialing that those with credentials do.  Credentialing is the pedigree building and certificate providing that those with credentials should be measured by.  For example, we all know great coaches who win enough games (and maybe even some championships) that are therefore considered credentialed.  But we respect even more those coaches who not only win but also seed the league with their assistant coaches and coordinators, thus not only being credentialed but also succeeding at credentialing.  But it doesn’t stop there.  We then justifiably deify those coaches who not only have credentials and give credentials, but then those who they gave the credentials to then go and pay those credentials forward, winning and credentialing on their own.  Those deified coaches don’t need to lead with credentials.  Their legacies are branded on each of their team members that go on and become credentialers of their own.

So my recommendation to each of us is to lead by credentialing rather than post our credentials.  At some point in the future, maybe each of us can then be compared to those truly great ones who were the ultimate credentialers. 

PS.  My guess is those great ones didn’t care very much about their own credentials.

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I mentioned in the last post about the frustrating time of doing that occurs between dreaming and being done.

I’m taking a totally different spin this time, and thinking about the distance between you and your boss, you and your spouse, you and your friend or you and your God.

True intimacy means very little distance between you and the other, and that minimal distance typically dictates the health of the relationship.  The greater the distance, the greater the frustration or uncertainty about the relationship.  The shorter the distance, the greater the openness and the stronger the trust in the relationship.

With a boss, lots of things get in the way of a closeness between the two of you.  It could be workload…just too many things going on to spend any time focusing on the relationship with those that report to them.  It also could be a complete discomfort with intimacy, since getting close means opening up in ways that may not be comfortable for those in leadership positions.  Regardless, that distance in between the two of you could be the difference between great excitement or extreme uncertainty about your role in the organization.

With a spouse or friend, it’s the same thing.  The distance between the two of you determine the intimacy in the relationship and the trust that then results.  The more distant you are, the more it seems like just about everything becomes a complication in the relationship.  When you’re very close, those complications become minor events and the hurdles that friends always face become easily surmountable.

With our Creator, it’s a bit different.  That’s the one relationship where we define the distance, because He’s there regardless of our actions or intentions, and His desire is to be very tight with us.  The distance in this case is determined by our willingness to seek Him and our submission and obedience to His higher authority.  We often let our own egos or our own sin get in the way of intimacy, but He’s there if we reach out to Him.

I think each of us would love to have that perfectly small distance in between us and those we want to be close to.  When that does happen, wonderful excitement occurs because of that intimacy between each of us and our boss, or between us and our spouses or friends, and between us and our Creator.  In the first two, we can do our part, and we’ll need help from those we’re working hard to be close to in order to minimize the distance .  In the third, it’s all up to us.

Here’s to each of us as we try to minimize the in between and achieve that optimum closeness.

We’ll each know when we’re there!

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What’s the worst possible time for a dreamer?  It’s the extended time of doing that is always between the dreaming and the done.

If that time is clearly defined and well understood by the dreamer, and then each step provides clear affirmation of progress against plan, dreamers can live with that.  If the time instead is hard to predict and the pace of the doing gets bogged down in things that aren’t relevant to the achievement of the dream, then the dreamer gets frustrated beyond belief.

Dreamers love to be in small companies because the time of doing between dreaming and done is defined many times by the dreamer.  Dreamers struggle in bigger companies because the time of doing is more often than not defined by others whose job are to add things to the doing process that extend that time of doing to incredibly painful levels for the dreamers.

Since dreamers are typically not capable of focusing on the detailed steps of doing, any hope of creating and allowing urgency in the doing path falls squarely on those who typically don’t dream.

That’s not good.

Dreamers today need to become doers, and if not doers, at least participants in the doing process to ensure the maximum amount of doing occurs to minimize the time between dreaming and done.

That’s the only way to minimize the anxiety and maximize the hope that the dream will indeed lead to done.

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Every business leader is a chemist, mixing the available chemicals together to achieve the optimum business concoction.

Some business leaders create incredibly rank combinations, where the chemicals don’t mix…in fact, they stink.

Others create an acceptable mix that smells ok but looks horrible, and thankfully, the business finds ways to move forward and grow even with the ugliness.

And finally, those rare few create the perfect concoction that looks good, smells good, and delivers beyond all expectations.

There are very few perfect concoctions.

Even fewer perfect chemists.

But there are an awful lot of chemicals that when mixed together make acceptable solutions.

Unfortunately, too many chemists live with the ugliest of mixtures.

There’s no need to do that.

But we do it anyway.

And then live with the results.

Business leaders today need to be the best chemists in the world.

Otherwise, everything stinks.

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We’re all actors in a sense, out on stage most of the time trying to be what others want us to be and trying to act the way others want us to act.  After watching us, many folks walk away thinking that’s the way it really is, because they want to believe that what they see on stage is indeed reality.

Culture isn’t what happens up on stage though.  Culture is what happens behind the scenes.  Culture is what’s going on in the lead up to the act on the stage, and the tear down once that scene is done.

More often than not, the audience only sees the perfect portrayal of a character and the perfect delivery of lines.  It seems so natural, and we smile in thinking that’s the way it really is.

In fact, off stage is stress.  Off stage is incredible pressure to do things right and to be things we may not be.  Off stage is critique that may or may not be warranted and expectations that may or may not be expressed.  Off stage is where the bonds are tightened or the harmony between characters destroyed.

That’s where the culture is created and that’s where culture is found.

Leaders (or directors) need to be behind the scenes, desperately seeking and passionately driving the culture.  They need to be listening to the whispers during the rehearsals.  They need to see the tears or smiles and sense the frustration or joy.  They need to be encouraging, nurturing, harmonizing, and mentoring during the build up to the performance, and then during the performance, they need to be cheering, promoting, believing, and rewarding.

If the leader is deep into the culture and active behind the scenes, then what happens on the stage isn’t an act at all, but an accurate reflection of the culture.

Then good or bad, it’s reality.

And that’s indeed your culture.

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LSU beat Florida this past Saturday night.

Barely.

In the last minute.

Which seems to be the norm for LSU.

Les Miles (the LSU head coach) weathered a torrential storm of criticism prior to the game for his time management the week before, even though they won.

And the announcers for Saturday’s game made sure everyone watching knew that Coach Miles was facing an almost identical situation this past Saturday as the seconds ticked away and LSU trailed during those very anxious final moments.

But everything went right this time for LSU.

Even the decisions that were suspect this time (like the fake field goal) proved right in hindsight when they led to success.

At least for now, the criticism from the week before has been replaced with a roar of excitement for the excellent calls that were made – this time anyway.

Because they worked.

Part of the excitement and charm of LSU games right now is the questionable decision making that occurs during the game.  It’s even more gut wrenching and head scratching when winning or losing will be decided primarily by those decisions.

But LSU, much more often than not, finds a way to win.

And odds are they will keep on winning at a pretty high rate.

Even with a growing number of critics.

Because winning is what they do.

Week by week.

Regardless of the decision making.

I’ve known businesses that did the exact same thing.

For some reason, in spite of highly questionable decisions, they just kept on closing deals and growing.

Week by week.

Month by month.

Year by year.

Folks would wait in anxious anticipation for the inevitable failure directly attributed to those decision makers.

Yet it wouldn’t happen.

Another contract signed…more people added to the team…more growth in revenue and income.

But the critics were there and the skeptics kept chirping.

And the team kept on winning.

So, is it better to be on a team that makes the perfect decision every time and loses?  Or, is it more fun to be on a team that creates incredible anxiety because of the path and plan that is followed and the decisions that are made, but wins much more than they lose?

Better lucky than good?

I’ve heard that somewhere before!

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I turned 50 last month.

Half a century old now.

Half a century of incredible experiences.

Half a century of learning.

Half a century of sharing.

Half a century of relating.

Half a century of believing.

Half a century of dreaming.

Half a century of doing.

That’s 200 changes in seasons.

That’s 15 moves.

That’s 19 job changes.

That’s countless projects.

That’s 100’s of friends.

That’s 1000’s of relationships.

That’s lots of heartaches.

That’s millions of smiles.

If the seasons don’t change, the 10’s don’t change to 100’s don’t change to 1000’s don’t change to 1,000,000’s.

Even though a half century old now, I’m grateful for the seasons.

I still get very excited with change.

I still look forward to what’s next.

I still wonder what I’m going to be doing in 10 years.

I still yearn for the cold when it’s hot and desperately want the warmth when it’s cold.

I still enjoy the colors in the fall, the white in the winter, the new green in the spring and the parched brown of the summer.

Life would be bland without change.

Thank you God for the seasons!

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As things happen, we get to make a very personal choice.

Is it a burden or a challenge?

Is it ominous or exciting?

Is it frustrating or enlightening?

Is it tearing us down or building us up?

We have a choice.

We can view things that happen to us either way.

I’m on the side of challenging, exciting, enlightening and building us up.

Trust me though…I’d like things to be challenging, exciting, enlightening, building us up AND EASY!!!!

But life doesn’t typically work that way.

Life is rarely easy.

So we have a choice.

We can suffer under the oppression of the struggles that we face, or we can smile in knowing how much stronger we will be because of the struggles!

It really is a choice.

I choose to smile!

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Things seem to be changing all the time now.

Each day brings a new challenge.

Each day brings an unexpected change.

Each day the scenery that was so special the day before changes just enough to make you notice that today is something very different than yesterday and will certainly be different again tomorrow.

For some of us, the changes bring great awe.

For others of us, we tend to miss the change or ignore it.

For a few, change brings despair.

But for those of us that might recognize the small (or big) change and relish the difference in today from yesterday, this new day is for us to cherish.

Change brings challenge.

Change brings opportunity.

Change is life.

Bring on the change!

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