What is right or who is right…

What a great world it would be if we were all more concerned with what is right than who is right.  We spend a lot of time defending our position, arguing our viewpoint, and building our own individual case.  Is our position always what is right?  That seems doubtful.  There are times we may be arguing for what is right, but often we are just concerned with being right.  Sometimes we even know that we are not right, but we just cannot bring ourselves to admit that we are wrong.  It should not be about being wrong.  It should be about what is right.  Try and think more about what is right, for your company, for your family, for society; not who is right.  Be humble…

“Pride is concerned with who is right.

Humility is concerned with what is right.”

            -Ezra Taft Benson

When you leave…

What do people say about you when you leave?  I don’t mean when you leave the table or a meeting.  People talking behind your back is not what I am getting at either.  What do people say when they are no longer around you on a regular basis?  How do they talk about you when you move out of a community?  What is said about you when you leave a job?  How are you thought of by someone when they leave your company or neighborhood and no longer get to interact with you regularly?  What do people say when you roll off of a Board of Directors?
 

The answer to those questions is the true measurement of your influence and your impact. 

Currently I serve as Chairman of the Board of Leadership Montgomery County (LMC).  It is an organization dedicated to developing leaders in our community and it holds a special place in my heart.  One of the core values of LMC is “We Leave Our Mark.”  We challenge ourselves and others to make a lasting impression.  We should all leave our mark.  The answers to the above questions are your report card.  How will people remember you when you leave?

Self-imposed Limitations

Last week I was listening to one of the last few days of the Mike & Mike sports talk show on ESPN radio. (I am going to miss those guys.)  They were interviewing Coach Mike Krzyzewski, the head basketball coach of Duke University, better known as Coach K.  It is very early in the college basketball season, but his team, #1 ranked Duke, had just beaten then #2 ranked Michigan State.  They asked Coach K. what he felt like he knew about his team and if it was too early to determine the identity of the team.  I was impressed by his response.

If you have already said who you are, you may not become what you are supposed to be.

-       Coach K

Isn’t it true though?  He went on to say that he did not want to limit the team by establishing an identity too soon.  They might appear to be a good defensive team now, but they might ultimately be a great scoring team.  I thought it was a great answer!

Are you guilty of this?  I know I am.  If you say you are a $5 million revenue widget sales company doesn’t that prohibit you from becoming a $12 million widget and accessories sales, distribution and installation company?  The same is true of our personal identities and goals.  Don’t limit yourself.  Don’t box yourself in without allowing for time to develop.  Don’t keep your team from becoming what it is supposed to be!