beBetter 

Last fall, at the first crisp cool wind that I felt (we treasure things like this in the Deep South), I called and ordered a cord of firewood for our fireplace. We have an outside carport area with a fireplace that we drive through which CeCe calls a Porte-cochère (yes, I had to Google it). Now a cord of firewood is a lot of wood so I had to be pretty creative with where I stacked it. First, I filled up the spot right beside the fireplace which has a brick wall on the back side and a brick wall on the side opposite the fireplace itself. It makes a nice area to stack firewood. I had so much wood that I stacked it about five feet high which was at the very top of the walls. Then, I went around on the back side of the fireplace and put another stack on the back wall all the way to the top. I still had firewood left over so I put a stack at the end of our driveway.

A few weeks ago I was jogging (liberal use of the word) in Naples, Florida, around 9:30 a.m. It was a beautiful day and about 2.5 miles into my run I went into my self-talk rationalization. 

“30 minutes is really enough today. I know I wanted to do a full 40 minutes but heck, you can walk the last mile. Walking counts. And some say it is better for weight loss. As soon as you get to the top of this bridge, just call it a day.”

My mother-in-law, who celebrated her 80th birthday yesterday, is fondly referred to by her nickname "Happy," and she works hard to earn that title. Recently, Happy (with encouragement) has relocated from her lifelong roots and friends in Natchez, MS, to a wonderful retirement community in our hometown of Ridgeland, MS. (Literally, she is only about two miles from our driveway which is a blog for another time). 

The truth is, it’s easy to be average. To be outstanding, however, calls for risks. It means not letting our comfort zones or fears of mistakes, perceptions and the unknown keep us from reaching our full potential. 

We had two team members: Adam, who had been with us three years, hard worker, dependable and always completed his assigned tasks. The other, Tom, was with us for six months — extremely innovative, demonstrated the ability to learn fast and seemed to always be exceeding expectations. Both were being considered for promotion to supervisor and Adam was even requesting the promotion.

First and foremost, we must learn to lead ourselves. It starts with understanding who we are. Do we know ourselves very well? Seems like a crazy question, but it is the starting point for leadership, fulfillment and success. What are our values? What decisions did we make that brought us to this point?

Recently, I surprised a team member by requesting that we role-play a difficult situation I had to address the following week. “Joey, why do you want to role-play this? As Executive Partner with tons of experience, why are you wasting time role-playing this discussion?” he asked. Great questions that brought to light how often we don’t gain the benefits of role-playing. 

I am working diligently to keep my weight at 195 pounds. As part of my early morning ritual, I weigh and record my weight almost every morning. Yes, I write it down because it creates more accountability as I reflect on my track record daily and keeps me focused on my goal.

Here’s a profound thought for you: we are where we are today due to our choices.

Yeah, I bet you’re thinking, “No kidding,” right?

“Be bold.” These two little words sure can pack a big punch. After all, being bold often requires being vulnerable. And being vulnerable is not a comfortable place to be!

Andy Taggart shared this great story a few weeks ago on Twitter. As I read and reflected on it, it became crystal clear that this is the same collaboration needed in our firms and companies. More Baby Boomers and Gen X sharing their knowledge and experience while working directly with our youngest generation of team members. The fastest leadership development and the best way to close the succession gap is by being “in the room” or “in the meeting.”  

I was really excited about my schedule as I headed into the office for the day. I had two meetings with team members—one to collaborate on a new client opportunity and the other to develop a strategy to help us execute at a faster pace on changing our client experience to be more focused, anticipatory and consistent.

When we were growing up, if Mike, Mitzi and I were constantly arguing or fighting, Mom would patiently warn us several times to stop. If we continued to be rowdy, she would finally step back in the room and say, “I’ve had ENOUGH!” which we knew meant our future was not real bright and our backsides were now in jeopardy. As a profession, we need a wake-up call of our own about the disruption and speed of change we are facing. So, today, we will use the term ENOUGH just as Mom did.