LEADERSHIP FAILS FOR THE BOSS OF YOU

Leadership fails are expected, since no one is perfect.

But if there was such a thing, such perfection, why wouldn’t be you?

Fortunately, or not, we see leadership as a process more than a person.

Which means there are a lot of cooks in that kitchen to screw up the soup.

And you want to be one of them? Hopefully you’ll get sound advice along the way.

One of my top guys, a corporate VP, interviewed a candidate for an important job.

It was a bright kid with lots of great ideas they wanted to implement sooner than later.

“While I admire your vision, this may not be the best fit for you here. We do things a certain way that’s proven reliable and beneficial. And lucrative. You need to start your own company then hire guys like me to run it.”

This statement echoes back to my Army days where we learned all the ways of doing everything:

“There’s my way, your way, and THE ARMY WAY.”

The last part came out full volume to make sure the message was clear, because if you say it loud enough it sinks in.

But you know this, RIGHT?

Who Made You The Boss Of You?

One of the nicest things you can do for someone after a massive screwup is assure them it’s not their fault.

“It could happen to anyone.”

Sometimes it’s true, sometimes not, but it’s always one of the nicest things you can do.

If you surround yourself with bright people, and you should, they already know it’s their fault even if it’s not.

Telling them it’s not their fault is either rubbing their personal leadership fails in for a better outcome next time, or signaling their replacement.

Do we hear, “It’s not your fault,” and understand it as it was intended to mean?

This is why you subscribe to boomerpdx, why you weigh an anonymous blogger opinion with real life.

My readers are universal, if I do say so myself, but I focus on baby boomers, the boomer people, specifically Portland baby boomers right here in Oregon.

Call it a microcosm.

Microcosmically speaking, we like to find people to blame.

Deep in our soul we know who bears responsibility when things go wrong.

If you ask the bright people around you, they’ll tell you who bears responsibility.

The brightest person around me is my wife. Hi, honey.

And we agree on who bears the burden.

And that’s why it’s important to stay fit and lift weights.

If you’re not carrying the burden now, it’s coming.

The Burden Of Mother’s Day

My younger son came to Mother’s Day early so we could take a sauna and drink seltzer.

It was 210 degrees in there on an already warm day.

So Mother’s Day started more like Father’s Day?

Yes, and here’ why:

Me: I skipped Mother’s Day one year and never did again.

Kid: Skipped?

Me: I called her and said you were sick.

Kid: Was I sick?

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Me: No. But she had one son in Alaska, one with a stick up his ass, and a daughter in Southern California. I didn’t want to spend the day listening to how much she missed everyone so much, especially the granddaughters.

Kid: How many?

Me: Seven granddaughters.

Kid: How old was I on Mother’s Day skip year?

Me: You weren’t in school yet. And I never skipped again.

Kid: I’m afraid to ask why.

Me: I called and made my weak excuse. Before I got off the line she gave my life’s history from conception.

Kid: I don’t need to hear that.

Me: All you need to know is your old man started out in the Westward Ho Motel in Bend.

Kid: The Westward Ho?

Me: Your mom and I stayed there once and I wrote my mom a letter on their stationary and sent a few pictures of the place. Then she went there with Grandma Marshall and took the same pictures.

Kid: That’s a funny story.

Me: Then she told me about my conception.

Kid: You can leave that part out.

Me: Okay, I’ll save in case you ever miss Mother’s Day.

Kid: I won’t.

Leadership fails begin when you stop using what is available.

On Mother’s Day the most valuable thing is time.

How can family gatherings feel like timeless happiness, a breath of the freshest air, the wind beneath your wings?

Leadership Fails For A New Beginning

I never met my wife’s father, but I like what I’ve heard.

He died when she was nineteen, ten years before she married me.

Both of her parents were raised in England. As a girl she returned to the old country with her mom.

Her dad went back once. Why? Because he didn’t like to travel.

But legend has it that he’d heard enough from his family to know they’d never change, they’d always complain about the same things while doing nothing about it, and that was the end of their story together.

Since then my wife and I have made the trip with our kids, and as a couple. Now I know why her dad never returned.

He had a younger sister, Aunt Betty, who was the boss of everyone and everything.

When she was present no rock went unturned, no river too wide to cross.

Then he married a woman the same age with the same drive. He had to feel enough was enough?

Grandpa Norman skipped Mother’s Day with his mom.

Don’t do that to yours or you’ll hear from me.