Fans

 

It is an exciting time of year for sports fans. Baseball is heading to the playoffs, the NFL is building momentum, and college football is in full swing. Fans are sporting their favorite teams gear, yelling at TVs, and sweating their fantasy line-ups. They are passionate, invested, and all bought in.

Are your employees or team members passionate fans of your company or organization? Think about that. Imagine if they felt the same level of excitement about your business as they do for their favorite sports team. What would it be like to have a team full of dedicated, passionate fans?

This is likely easier said than done. I mean it is work, and it does not include cold beer and wings. It is also way more than just branded gear and a company happy hour. True fans are invested. They feel like they have something at stake, and they feel a tie to their team.  We should want employees and team members to feel that way. We want them to be all in on our team winning.

Are your employees rabid fans of your business?

Experiences

 

I completed my 40^th year in the post-college workplace this month.  Spare me the “old” jokes.  As a good friend suggested, I prefer “seasoned”.  My first job in June 1982 was at  InterFirst Bank in Conroe, Texas. I thought I would spend my career in banking.  Little did I know… 

Your path of life experiences makes you who you are.  They may be good, bad, or indifferent, but you are the culmination of those life experiences.  Yes, we can influence the direction of our lives.  We can certainly change course, grow, and improve.  However, what we experience and learn along the way plays a huge part in who we become.  I never would have guessed that after 15 years in banking I would end up in the manufactured housing industry.  I also would not have thought I would become an entrepreneur after age 50.  Along the way I went through a divorce, had a bought with cancer, lost my dad, a mother-in-law, and one of our adult children. There are too many lessons and experiences to count.  Many of them have provided the subject matter of the MMM over the years. All summed up these lessons and experiences have made me who I am today.

Embrace who your life has made you.  Make all of your life lessons positive ones even if the experience associated with them was difficult.  Don’t let failures, disappointments, losses and missed opportunities get the best of you.  Make it a point to create positive experiences and do the same for those that you lead!