Life Lessons

Sometimes we are destined to be put in the same circumstances more than once in this life.

Over the past few weeks I have watched a scenerio very similar to past experiences play out in new environments with new participants.  Hopefully the outcomes will be more positive than what I have witnessed before.

While both of these existing life lessons are focused on leadership, I believe the core lessons learned can be applied to a marriage, a relationship, a job or any organizational hierarchy.

Lesson One:  When you know what you need to do, do it, no matter how hard it is, no matter who needs to be involved, no matter how unpleasant the conversation will be.  By not doing what you need to do, you are postponing the inevitable or worse creating an environment for failure.  Your organization is more important than avoiding the necessary.

Lesson Two:  Surround yourself with good advisors and heed their advice!  I have always been a proponent of not only surrounding myself with people smarter than me but also including others who don’t think the same way as I do all the time.  Differing opinions are good – they make me consider other points of view.  Sometimes I am persuaded by others and sometimes the differeing views help me in defining my own decisions and action plans.  Bottom line is there is always someone who may have a better idea than you – listen to it!

Unfortunately I once was a leader who didn’t head lesson one.  Fortunately I learned from that mistake!