What Are We Strapped To?

It’s my first trip back into our cabin after seven months of flooding. I have no idea what I’m going to find besides lots of Mississippi river mud. As I drive up, I’m pleasantly surprised to see that everything appears to be in great shape other than the heavy mud on everything. 

But before I begin my mud cleaning chores, I want to see how the cabin is inside. I open the cabin door and everything looks great. A few dead wasps and ladybugs, but after a quick sweep, good as new. CeCe might think otherwise, but for today, this is great!  

My excitement fades as I try unsuccessfully to light our stove and water heater. We use propane for our stove and water heater. But then I remember that I cut the gas lines off as a precaution before the flood. Easing back down the muddy steps, I stop dead in my tracks at the bottom. 

My 250-gallon propane tank is gone! 

As I look around, I see it tied to my neighbor’s cabin. The flood has broken it free of its straps and it obviously floated off only to be rescued by one of my neighbors. 

This is odd as the straps have held during other floods, but then I remember that one strap had come loose. And all of my good intentions to strap it back down were now tied to my neighbor’s cabin. Ha! What else could I expect from not having the tank securely fastened? 

How often do we find ourselves in a similar situation when we don’t stay anchored and secured to our core values? Our core values provide us the staying power during stormy times and even floods. Do you know your key core values? Can you recite them quickly, and do our actions demonstrate we are strapped to them? 

How often do our team members hear us share our core values and why they are important? What images do we have that help support the power of our core values? Images are proven to help team members understand and raise their level of commitment. As we gaze over at our core value straps today, are they loose? Let's avoid the risk of losing power by making sure they are secured.