beBetter 

What a beautiful day on Eagle Lake with my fishing buddy Bruce. The sun has peeped out and we have a slight southwest breeze blowing about 6 mph. I’m smiling as I’m looking into the live well where we have put 19 slab crappie over the last few hours. I’m adjusting the depth on my Live Scope as we are moving around to locate another spot holding baitfish. Today, our pattern has been finding big crappie just beneath the schools of baitfish in about ten feet of water.  

When the weather starts to get cold, heaters crank up and I spend time at deer camp where the water is hard and my skin begins to get dry. After five days at camp over Thanksgiving, I’m worn out and headed to bed early. Last thing I do is put some lotion on to help my skin because I know CeCe will ask.

Can you imagine if your surgeon was billing you by the hour? How good would we feel about those contrasting incentives? The longer the surgery, the more the surgeon makes. We might pay a lesser skilled surgeon more than an innovative surgeon who has perfected a less invasive and highly successful surgery.  

The CEO comes into the boardroom and everyone is standing. “Our oldest customer has fired us. Says they just don’t know us anymore — too much business by phone, email. Well folks, something has to change. We are going to see them all face-to-face.” He then hands out airline tickets to everyone.

This scene is from an old commercial, but with the current pandemic, I think it is a scene (being fired) we could replicate very easily today if we do not treat being relevant as important and urgent. This takes energy and creativity. It takes contacting, listening and collaborating with clients and customers.

Frankly, it’s easier today to assume that a client doesn’t want to collaborate or hear from us. How often are we letting these assumptions delay our actions? The hyper-speed of digital acceleration, remote work, changing business patterns, etc., all require a concerted effort to understand changing needs so we are relevant.

CeCe and I are having an evening glass of wine and winding down from the day as we sit on our front porch, observing all of our quarantined neighbor’s new activities to pass the time. Walking, jogging, dog walking, bicycles, scooters, golf carts, fishing, and of course, the kid’s playground, which is right in front of our house. This playground has become a center of daily activity and lately, I suspect it is also serving as a secret happy hour spot.

You are reading the blog of someone who once wore his Mack Weldons inside out for months. Yes, inside out and I was convinced I had them on right the whole time. So much so that every time CeCe put up the laundry, I flipped them back around after her. But one day CeCe caught me and asked what I was doing turning them the wrong way. “You have been wearing them inside out haven’t you?” she asked. After some laughs and a website search for confirmation, I realized that I was in fact wrong. I claimed they were my favorite brand yet I had been wearing them inside out for months.

Now I realize this might be too much information, but it is relevant because my embarrassment was the result of being quick to make assumptions, especially if they help fit my view of the world. 

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.