Commitment and Follow Through

“I do!”  Those two words are instantly recognized as the moment two people ceremoniously commit to each other during a wedding.  Two people in love, getting ready to join (formally) together for the future.  We recently went to a friend’s daughter’s wedding and my thoughts wandered to thinking about the times when we commit and the ability to actually follow through.

The key question is - What does it mean to commit, and does it stop once you say yes?  Coming up on my 27^th wedding anniversary, the commitment to Debbie has never stopped.  Being a father (yes, the commitment was before the action) is a commitment to Debbie and both Gab and Bec.  Anyone I have worked for, I have been committed to provide to the best of my ability towards the company’s success.  Now that I am a volunteer president, I have committed to serve my community / congregation.  Saying “Yes” is the easy the part; it is what follows that proves if one is up for the challenge, willing to exceed expectation and prepared to own up (take responsibility) for one’s actions.  The saying “actions speak louder than words” is true when following up on the commitment.  For all activities, whether we realize it or not, there is a bar set for us (expectations), it is how we strive to surpass the bar, or our attitude towards our goals and the perception of us that determines our success.  Our own commitments and actions start on day one.

To evaluate the commitment of others, this becomes more of a two-fold task.  First is our perception of their commitment (based on the things mentioned previously) and holding them accountable for their actions.  The first is easier.  We are all critics of what we see, are we not?  The second, however, is more difficult.  This includes providing constructive feedback and advice and reviewing their actions, all in relation to the expectations set up front and the outline of the role.  Yes, employee reviews go under this. The first time I did an employee review, I had no idea what I was doing.  Since then, I have learned to be better at it.  Being a parent?  Yup, that’s right, this is something we help and teach our children.

As we watched the beautiful ceremony, both the bride and the groom looked so happy, standing under the chupah, smiling as the Rabbi finished up the ceremony.  And with those two words, “I do,” both young adults publicly made their commitments, first the bride to the groom and then the groom to the bride.  Together, they have taken that all important step and now comes the work of creating a lifetime together.

Poised for Success

“Don’t let your past dictate your future.” ~ Bill Johnson

“Don't worry about yesterday it ended last night at midnight.” ~ John C Maxwell

Whenever I am involved in a project, I start by doing an analysis.  The analysis is to understand where we are, to define where we want to be, and then to determine how to get there.  When I first started consulting, I was taught that the customers will always ask for the world; consultants temper that with what is reasonable to deliver, then you meet somewhere in the middle.  The unique thing about consulting is that you go in with a single purpose, start at a single date and you look forward towards the goal. 

How many times have we heard “We have tried that before,” “After X years, nothing has changed,” or, “You need to understand the history”?  Any new ideas or projects always gets some sort of push back,  generally, due to the fear of change.  However, there are some people who look towards the past and determine the potential future by past failures.  In the first case, the fear is due to comfort while the second is justified by past events.    

Many thought leaders talk about having the BIG GOAL, but stress striving for the smaller objectives.  The understanding is that small change over time has a big impact.  To succeed, one needs to look forward towards the horizon, as opposed to looking back from where they came.  The past may hold lessons, but the conditions most likely have changed, the people involved are of a different mindset and the need for a new goal has dictated the choices.  As Jim Rohn famously said, "It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go."

Someone recently pointed out that a certain group, when talking about moving forward, always start off talking about the “Good Old Days.”  The comment by this person was, “They seem to forget the struggle and pain involved to create those good old days.”  We are good at minimizing unhappy events in favor of the happy ones.  In any venture, however, as we poise ourselves for success, we have the clear choice to look backwards in time or to set our sails and face forward to the future ahead.

Leaders are Readers

I recently sat with some different teams and asked, “Have any of you read…”  The book I asked about was a business-related parable that came out a few years ago highlighting the need for change, the different types of people confronting the issue of the day and how they react.  The general response I received was blank stares.  Someone stated that it was previously recommended to them, they had the book, but never opened it. 

Years ago, I attended a conference where I had the opportunity to listen to different highly successful speakers.  The topics that they talked about and most of the names have since faded from my memory.  The thing that stayed with me was the one overriding connection that each of the speakers were avid readers; they were proud of the fact, talked about the resourcefulness of education it provided them and the source of mentorship. 

I went from being a non-reader, to someone who read regularly.  I generally read on a Kindle, and have downloaded books from 2011 through the end of 2017, on the average 32 books a year.  This is from someone who did everything to avoid reading.  Reading has helped me learn new things from experts in their fields, provided me insights into certain areas and helped to hone a positive mindset.  When I refer to a book or make a recommendation, those books have had a positive impact on me.

Most have read the classic books on personal development – “The Power of Positive Thinking” by Norman Vincent Peale, “As A Man Thinketh” by James Allen, and “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, etc.

What books have you read that have inspired you?  What are you currently reading?  What book would you recommend?

The list of books that I have read so far in 2018:

• “Leadership Lessons” by Will Peters
• “The Magic of Thinking Big” by David J Schwatz
• “What is Mindfulness (#whatis)" by Tamara Russell
• “The Go-Giver” by Bob Burg and John David Mann
• “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson
• “The Cheapskate Next Door” by Jeff Yeager
• “The Complete Sherlock Holmes” by Arthur Conan Doyle
• “Words That Hurt, Words That Heal” by Joseph Telushkin
• “Talent is Never Enough” By John C Maxwell
• “Great Teams” by Don Yaeger
• “The Year of Living Biblically” by A. J. Jacobs
• “The Magic of Believing” by Vic Johnson
• “Dracula” by Bram Stoker
• “The Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson