Putting Life Back Into Perspective

When the world gets out of kilter, daily life generally seems to follow suit.

The recent events of the downing of the Malaysian airliner in Ukraine and the Israeli conflict with Hamas have certainly added to life’s tensions for many concerned peoples around the world. Clearly, there were already ample things on the world stage and here at home in the U.S. to be plenty concerned about.

 

When it comes to worry and stress, people tend to lose touch with what it is in life that they have the ability to control and those things over which then have no control what so ever. The reality is that the virtual majority of what you have stress about will never come to pass in the first place. Moreover, you wouldn’t have any control of the circumstances even if they did some how come to pass.

 

There are times when the world around you is full of uncertainty and life’s future prospects look gloomy. When this occurs, you need to find a way of putting life back into perspective.

 

A few months back when I was at the neighborhood branch of my bank, I observed something on my bank officer’s desk that really caught my attention. It was a simple list of perspectives about life that I found very reassuring. I’m sure that Miss Judy would approve of me sharing them with you:

 

The Greatest Joy ………………………………………….. Giving

The Greatest Loss ……………………...…Loss of Self-Respect

The Most Satisfying Work …………...................Helping Others

The Ugliest Personality Trait …………………….…..Selfishness

The Most Endangered Species ………...…..Dedicated Leaders

Our Greatest Natural Resource ………………...…….Our Youth

The Greatest “Shot In The Arm” …………….…Encouragement

The Greatest Problem to Overcome ……………...……..….Fear

The Most Effective Sleep Remedy …………...….Peace of Mind

The Most Crippling Failure Disease ……………….……Excuses

The Most Powerful Force In Life …………………….... ……Love

The Most Dangerous Pariah ………………………….A Gossiper

The World’s Most Powerful Computer …………...……The Brain

The Worst Thing To Be Without ………………………….…Hope

The Deadliest Weapon …………………………...….The Tongue

The Two Most Power-Filled Words ……………………….”I Can”

The Greatest Asset …………………………………………...Faith

The Most Worthless Emotion …………………………... Self-Pity

The Most Beautiful Attire ……………………………..…. A Smile

The Greatest Gift …………………………………...…...Kindness

The Most Prized Possession ………………………….…Integrity

The Most Powerful Form of Communication ……….……Prayer

The Most Contagious Spirit ………………………….Enthusiasm

The Most Important Thing In Life ………………………...….God

When I consider this amazing list, I am reminded that while life is hard enough, you need not add to it by being hard on yourself. Life is short… best that you not hasten the process by worrying yourself to death. Scripture reminds us that there will be trials and tribulations, war and rumors of war. What you are experiencing today is nothing new in the grand scheme of life on planet earth.

 

There is a lifetime of abundant living in the list above, if you would simply employ these perspectives. Choose to take charge of those aspects of life over which you can exert some degree of control. Beyond that, take time to smell the roses, spend time with friends and family. View more sunrises at the beach, more sunsets from the mountain top and take more barefoot walks in the park.

 

Most of all, learn to enjoy the process and live life to the fullest… for time is fleeting.

 

Lastly, one final thought from an author unknown… “The mark of a successful man is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it.”

 

The Leadership Academy… Changing the way organizations and people work, perform and live.

Copyright © 2014 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.

When Your Inherent Your Leadership Role

No sooner had GM’s new CEO Mary Teresa Barra reported for duty on January 15, 2014, that she immediately found herself seated in front of congress having to answer for GM’s failure to effect recalls in a timely manner and for a number of consumer deaths that were associated with the delayed recalls in question.

 

This past week General Motors announced the additional recall of yet another 8 million vehicles with faulty ignition switches. Over the course of just the past six months since CEO Barr’s arrival, GM has now issued over 28 million product recalls.

 

CEO Barra's recent experiences serve to remind leaders everywhere of the immense challenges that must be faced on a daily basis. Leadership truly is the fulcrum of change. Clearly, leaders would love for their future leadership role to be the successor for a highly successful leader that is retiring after a long tenure of service. The opportunity to take over the helm of a well-oiled machine and then keep it running smoothly, simply isn’t by any measure the reality of an authentic leader.

 

The factual truth is that the average tenure of a Fortune 500 CEO is just 3.5 years. As CEO Barra can attest to, leaders are replaced for very real reasons and the incoming leader is typically going to inherit a multitude of challenges which must be addressed forth with.

 

If there is a downside to leadership, it is that every role that you undertake will require you to assume full responsibility for your predecessor’s failures and short sightedness. Regardless of how competent a leader may truly be, he or she is going to have weaknesses and blind spots. Even the very best of leaders can never get every decision right.

 

When successful organizations acquire one of their competitors that are struggling or failing, they have several courses of action which they can pursue. They can elect to acquire only the company’s assets, without taking on any responsibility for the competitor’s liabilities. Conversely, they can also choose to buy out the competitor lock, stock and barrel, including all debts, liabilities and operational headaches.

 

As an authentic leader that is positioned on the front lines of day to day operations, scenario #2 above will invariably be your plight. Whatever the magnitude of the situations that you may have inherited, you now own them… lock, stock and barrel. Your leadership responsibility is to meet these challenges head-on, while creating effective solutions.

 

In the circumstance of GM CEO Mary Barra, not only has she inherited 28,000,000+ recalls, she has inherited total accountability for them. Although the manufacturing deficiencies did not happen on her watch, CEO Barra must now address the engineering, sub-contractor and manufacturing glitches after the fact. Such is the true nature of leadership.

 

The GM situation serves to reveal just how deep the tentacles of flawed leadership that have preceded the current leader can reach. In like fashion, the extent of the cost fix that is required to correct such circumstances can be exorbitant. Simply consider the GM situation as it now stands.

 

While there are a variety of recall issues that must be repaired, for the sake of analysis, you would have to project at a minimum that the replacement cost of each defective part is at least $100.00 per vehicle. The labor involved to then remove the defective part and subsequently install a new component would again involve a minimum of two labor hours at a going labor rate of approximately $90.00 per hour at your typical GM dealership. 28 million recalls at $280.00+ each equates to a staggering recall repair cost of approximately 8 billion (that’s with a “b”) dollars or more.

 

Allow me to put that in context for you. GM’s North America sales were 1.9 million vehicles in 2013 and 1.8 million vehicles in 2012. 28 million recalls at the rate of 2 million sales per year equates to 14 years’ worth  of vehicle sales. GM’s annual profit in 2013 was 3.8 billion dollars, while 2012 came in slightly higher at 4.9 billion dollars. The final cost of GM’s existing recall scenario will without question completely eradicate all of the company’s substantial profits for the past two years.

 

This brief is being provided to stress the point that new leadership roles are akin to icebergs, in that there is far more to be dealt with than what is visible at a surface level. As an authentic leader, you must perfect your skills for both that which can be reasonably anticipated, as well as those situations than cannot in any way be perceived in advance.

 

In the final analysis, an quintessential part of leadership is being adequately prepared for the unexpected.

 

The Leadership Academy… Changing the way organizations and people work, perform and live.

Copyright © 2014 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.

Is It Time To Rediscover Your Life?

Will your life “tomorrow” be different from your life today? What about your career or business?

 

Sadly the answer for the vast majority of people is that little, if anything, will actually change in their life over the next twenty four hours or beyond. The reality is that they aren’t doing one single thing to be proactive about changing what needs to change in their lives.

 

One of the significant issues that my individual clientele, business owners and corporate clients must come to grips with is the same issue that I now ask you… What is the one thing that absolutely has to change in your life?

 

The companion question that also requires your complete honesty is… What is the consequence if it doesn’t change?

 

In almost every instance, the answers to these two insightful questions come to mind in a virtual instant, because they are already weighing heavily on your mind. Simply stated, the answers are immediate and obvious to you because you already know exactly how it will affect your life.

 

The true oddity here is that most people utilize superficial thinking and problem solving in dealing with their lives. Consequently, the decisions that they make and the actions that they take are likewise superficially based on what is immediate and obvious to them. Yet, even when you know exactly what needs to change in your life and why… You still choose to do nothing. This principle holds true for both your professional life, as well as your personal life.

 

Come tomorrow, you will invariably execute the exact same hum-drum routines in the exact same order as you did today. Will this simply occur out of established habits that have you running on auto pilot? The factual truth is that you are far more likely to make a clear conscious choice to not step outside of your comfort zone.

 

While this is your “reality”, it is not the reality that you should be opting for. You don’t have to live a lukewarm life, nor do you have to be lukewarm about your work. There was a time years ago when you were full of excitement, optimism and passion for what you were going to do with your life.

 

What has actually happened to you over the years, is that you have allowed the predictability of your responsibilities to rob you of your zest for life and the meaningful work that you do. You have become far more focused on perceived material necessities, than on your beliefs about what is truly important in life. Somewhere along the road of life, you swapped your passion and spirit of adventure for complacency and a false sense of security.

 

The proof lies with the tens of millions of adult American’s who sat comfortably at home watching Macy’s Fireworks Spectacular on TV (or other such events) on the evening of July 4^th. Have you become one of them? Yet, there was a time in these same people’s lives when they would have clamored to get the best possible spot to view the live fireworks event in their home town.

 

Over this past holiday weekend, the Hallmark Channel was airing Christmas movies. Concurrently, many retailers were also attempting to cash in by having Christmas in July sales. It would be my observation that there is a take-a-way that you could apply to your life here. Think back to last December, what were your hopes, dreams and goals for the coming year? The great news is that half of the year is still in front of you and it remains filled with endless possibilities for real achievement. Be gracious enough to give yourself permission for a do-over.

 

Virtually every electronic device that you own has a “reset” feature or button. There is no time like the present to hit your reset button and reboot your life, career or business. There is absolutely nothing standing in your way… but “you”.

 

Call a timeout and then get your life, goals and priorities straight. Stop taking the easy way out. Stop living life vicariously through other people. Decide what it is that you truly want. Dust off a dream and then pursue it with everything you’ve got. Determine what’s missing in your life. Press past your fear and do something that you have never done before. Dare to live your life boldly.

 

When you do, not only will you take back control of your life… You’ll discover a new found zest for living like never before!

 

The Leadership Academy… Learn more… Do more… Become more….

Copyright © 2014 Developing Forward | Thomas H. Swank, CBC | All Rights Reserved.