Kids and Technology

2011 is just about over, and with it my blog for the year.  Yes, this was the first year I ever wrote a blog, so for that I feel some sense of accomplishment.  We have covered a lot of different topics this year including: Vision, No Excuses, Mentors, Letting go, Encouraging others, Risk taking, and many other avenues.  Hopefully you may have learned a thing or two, as I did.  It goes without saying that the person who writes is usually the person who learns the most.  I definitely learned a lot in 2011. 

As we near the end of 2011, I was struck at how fast life can come and how fast life can go.  We have all lost loved ones, good friends, colleagues, and even mentors in 2011.  Time never slows down. 

My 11 year old son has been saving his money for quite some time to get an iPod Touch.  A couple months ago, my wife and I finally let him get his own Gmail account.  Right away, he was emailing family members.  (I must admit, I absolutely love receiving an email from him when I'm on the road.  It totally brightens up my day.)  He finally received enough money and was able to get an iPod Touch.  He is blowing me away with what he can do on it.  My daughter...well, she really wanted a Kindle. She too had been saving up for one and she just got it in the mail today.  Of course, now she had to have her own email account too, so now she's off to the races!  I know this is going to sound like I am REALLY old, but my kids are doing things that I never even dreamed about at their ages.  The truth is they're growing up way too fast.  I just want to slow the process down as much as I can, but unfortunately, I cannot. 

Life doesn't slow down and it will continually go faster and faster.  Don't let life rule you - rule it!  Take time with your family, your friends, your colleagues and get to know them on a deeper level.  The "hi, how ya doing" mentality doesn't cut it.  Dig deep!  Trust me, I know I have to do a MUCH better job in this department.  

Embracing change is no easy task.  It isn't easy to see my kids growing up as fast as they are, but I'm truly thankful.  I can either sit back and discourage all the changes, or I can embrace them.  The same goes with your career.  You can either embrace the changes going on around you (economy, new boss, job change, etc.), or you can sit back and get run over by all the changes.  If you take the latter approach, it won't be as easy to jump on the train and ride it.   

I'm excited about what lies ahead in 2012, and I hope you are too.  We have so much to be thankful for!  As one of my good friends, Cynthia Ellison, CCIM always says, "Today is a gift, that is why they call it the "present." 

God bless, and I wish you all the best in 2012!

Dave 

A Tribute to Tim Hatlestad, CCIM

This week has been a very difficult one for me.  I found out on Thursday that one of my good friends, Tim Hatlestad, went home to be with the Lord.  This has been an emotional roller coaster for me as I process him not being here any more. My heart goes out to his wife Keri, daughter Morgan, and son Griffin. 

Tim has always been a true inspiration to many in the CCIM arena, and he has mentored and taught countless numbers of people throughout his time with the CCIM Institute.  He was an incredible instructor, and well-respected amongst his peers.  He was a humble man who wasn't afraid to put others first and himself second or even third.  He was a family man who loved them with all of his heart.  He continually gave of himself to his church and the mission field throughout the world.  He wasn't afraid to stand up and go against the flow, even though he might have caught flack from his peers.  True leaders know that sometimes you have to do the hard things, even though not everyone will agree with you.  He was a true leader! 

He always made me laugh, and he wasn't afraid to even poke fun at himself time and time again.  He was a forward-thinker; always looking for ways to do something better within the CCIM organization.  Tim was an encourager.  He would always put his arm around me and encourage me in so many ways.  For that, I am extremely grateful.  

Tim lit up a room.  When he was in it, you knew it.  He made you feel welcome and appreciated.  He was an incredible CCIM Institute President; and he led with passion, desire, and integrity.  He was also a servant leader, one who continually put others first.  He didn't need to take the credit.  That wasn't like him.

I will miss working alongside of him on the Executive Committee, and just sitting down and talking about life, family, church, and whatever else the conversation led us to.  

Thank you for the great memories, my friend.  You will not be forgotten!  

Safe Travels!

With all of my air travels across the United States, one of the things I hear over and over again from people is:

"Safe Travels!"

Although it is a very nice gesture, (and I really do appreciate people saying it) my response is usually always the same:

"Unfortunately, that's not really up to me!" 

Isn't it true that we put our faith and trust in people we don't even know each and every day?  I mean, we drive down the road and we trust that the guy in the other lane doesn't swerve into our lane and hit us head-on.  I trust that these pilots (as I write this from 36,000ft) know what they are doing and have the proper credentials to fly this bird.  I trust the flight attendant that just poured me a glass of Coke didn't mess with my drink.  I could go on and on. 

 

We continually have faith and trust in people and things every day - yet sometimes we find it difficult to have faith and trust in our own employees, managers, and co-workers.  Why is that?  These people we work with on a daily basis are the cream of the crop.  They are hard-working, passionate, exuberant, and they have what it takes to get the job done!

It is hard to let go and let others lead and take control; believe me I know.  But if we can trust someone we have never met before - how much more should we be trusting those closest to us?

Trust is an amazing thing.  Ernest Hemingway once said, "The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them!" When people feel like they have been trusted to take on a big task, and they know that you have faith in them to get it done, it can change a person's world.  They become motivated beyond comprehension.  They want to strive to do better than they normally would do because they have been entrusted with something that they know is precious to you.  Usually that person will give 110%, and the end-result could even be better than what you could've achieved on your own. 

I would encourage you this week....let someone else water the plants; you might be surprised on just how well they will grow!

No Excuses!

It is pretty sad that I haven't updated my blog in several weeks....okay months!  Trust me, the thoughts have gone through my mind, "I'm busy," or "I haven't really had anything interesting to talk about," or "if you were in my shoes, you'd know how nuts it has been around here lately."

The reality is that excuses really don't really matter, do they?  Don't get me wrong, I am probably a pro when it comes to excuses.  I put off exercising because..........okay, I just do.  I find it very ironic that one of my biggest pet peeves is people who make up excuses, yet I catch myself doing the very same thing.  

With that being said, in the business world excuses should not be accepted or encouraged.  How many times do we see politicians, bankers, and athletes (to name a few) make up huge excuses?  It happens daily. No one wants to take ownership and responsibility.  We always try to pass the ball to someone else.  As I sit here and type this, a couple of questions come to mind:  Did you make that call today? Did you send that email you were supposed to send?  Did you do that project that has been on your Microsoft Task list since 2002?  Did you read that lease you were supposed to read?  Did you get to work on time today? I could go on and on. 

The point is that each of us are faced with opportunities to come up with excuses each and every day.  The question is how do YOU deal with them?  Do you face the issue(s) head on?  Are you willing to speak truthfully and admit that you missed the mark?  I have probably mentioned in previous blog posts that bad news doesn't get better with time.  This phrase is probably said at least once a week in our office.  There have been times where we want a deal to happen so badly that things could get missed.  When they do, excuses are not an option.  Someone messed up, plain and simple.  Take ownership and admit the wrongdoing.  Nothing is worse than finger pointing.  It doesn't get you anywhere. 

George Washington Carver once said, "Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from the habit of making excuses."   Don't let excuses become a habit in your life.  Never put off to tomorrow what can be done today. 

Thinking Outside the Box

We've all heard the phrase, "Think outside the box."  It is probably one of the most overused terms in the business world.  I have heard this phrase so many times that now when I hear it, I tend to think, "yeah whatever."  Unfortunately, I actually catch myself saying  to other people, "hey, we need to think outside the box on this one." 

So what exactly does it mean to think outside the box?  The web definition says:

"Thinking outside the box is to think differently, unconventionally or from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to novel, creative and smart thinking."

At our company, we encourage people to think free.  We encourage new, fresh ideas.  So many times we can get bogged down in make-believe walls that we feel we can't get out of or get around.  In an earlier post, I mentioned that sometimes people feel like they can't spread their wings and are too afraid to fail.  Unfortunately, the same goes for thinking outside the box.  

In all of our jobs, we all know that there are things we could be doing better.  At Lockard, we wouldn't be where we are today without team members being creative day in and day out.  When we are creative, we can achieve things we never thought possible.  Some companies have idea jars where people can stick an idea in and if it gets implemented, that person is rewarded.  Check out what Google has to say about their culture:

"At lunchtime, almost everyone eats in the office café, sitting at whatever table has an opening and enjoying conversations with Googlers from different teams. Our commitment to innovation depends on everyone being comfortable sharing ideas and opinions. Every employee is a hands-on contributor, and everyone wears several hats. Because we believe that each Googler is an equally important part of our success, no one hesitates to pose questions directly to Larry or Sergey in our weekly all-hands (“TGIF”) meetings – or spike a volleyball across the net at a corporate officer."  

When creativity flows and we can knock down the barriers of thinking we "can" rather than thinking we "can't," the sky is the limit.  In order to have an effective company, we must continue to think beyond what we feel are constraints.  

In our company, I always want to encourage my team to come up with creative ideas to make our company better.  There are a lot of ways to get to an end result and, as a manager, I can't say that my way is the only way to get to there.  One of my main goals at Lockard is to make sure we are in the black and to make sure we bring revenue into the company.  I don't want to be the guy that says, "this is the way we've always done it" and not look at new, creative ideas from my team members that could really improve the bottom line.  Believe me, I still have a long way to go in this area.    

Continue to be creative and think outside the box.  Who knows what's out there that you or I haven't even tapped into yet.     

 

Business Travel: Is It Scheduling You, Or Are You Scheduling It?

If you know me at all, you know that I travel quite a bit for my job.  I'm on the road a lot meeting with retailers, doctors, hospital administrators, city staff, brokers, etc.  Each trip that I go on is a new adventure and is unique in its own way. 

This past weekend, I received a copy of a book from my cousin, Seth.  We had seen each other recently at my brother-in-law's 40th birthday party in New Hampshire.  We struck up a conversation about business travel, and he knew that I traveled quite a bit for my job.  He asked me if I had ever read the book "Road Warrior: How to Keep Your Faith, Relationships, and Integrity When You're Away From Home."   I told him I had not.  It sounded like a pretty neat book.  I got home from a trip the other day, and was pleased to find an envelope from Seth with the book in it.  I picked it up and read it in one day.  Let me just say that this book has transformed my thinking in so many different ways.   It hit me between the eyes right where - and when - I needed it.  

When you travel, it is a lonely place.  You may not realize how loneliness sets in, but you find yourself in places where you are away from your loved ones.  Look around you!  If you're on the road, you're probably with people you don't know very well - if at all - places like airports, hotels, restaurants, etc.  

Staying connected is key for me while I'm on the road.  How do I stay connected?  Well first and foremost, I have a Blackberry that has the Bible app on it that I can stay connected to God.  I can read it on the plane, in the hotel, in the Admirals Club at the airport, or wherever I have an opportunity.  I have to stay grounded in my faith FIRST before I can function with the rest of my day.  

Connection to my family is absolutely crucial.  It isn't easy as schedules are nuts with meetings, etc., but I MUST make an effort to call or even Skype my family every day to make sure that I know what's going on at home, and they know what is going on with me.  Not being able to be there all of the time isn't easy, so you must be able to make an effort to reach out and touch base with family.  Believe me, I can do a much better job of this, and after reading Road Warrior, it gave me a lot of new ideas to start to implement to be a better husband and father. 

The other one that I recommend is to stay close to your friends.  Friends can keep you accountable when you're on the road.  I reach out to them daily through phone calls, emails, Skype, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.  Keeping connected with friends and family really keep your mind focused and "in control."  Without them, it would make travel very difficult.           

Travel will eat you up, if you let it.  Believe me, I know.  It has eaten me up in a lot of ways.  I made a conscience decision this weekend, that I am not going to let it.  I can't let my travel schedule me rather than scheduling it.  If I continue to let that happen, then everything around me will suffer: God, family, friends. 

I am excited about what lies ahead, and am thankful to Seth who took time to send me the book Road Warrior, and I'm pleased to say that I bought 10 copies to pass out to my close "Road Warrior friends."  Hopefully, it will help them with their travels as I know it has already helped me. 

Work to Live or Live to Work?

Over the years, I have often heard the phrase, "Do you work to live, or do you live to work?"  Thankfully, that question is not a difficult one for me to answer.  I never want to find myself in the "work to live" category.  Obviously, that makes me a minority according to the graphs shown above.  They show two different age categories: 25-34 year olds and 55 & older.  Notice there is only a 12% difference between the two!  Does that surprise you at all?   I'm actually hoping that the 35-54 year old bracket (mine, that isn't shown) has a different outlook, but I highly doubt it.   

You have to understand, I love what I do!  I love my job.  I love the people I work with, and I love the fact that everyday is a new adventure.  The day that I feel like I have to show up to work, is the day that I would need to rethink why I am still working where I am.  I don't just show up at my office to get a paycheck.  I work where I do because I learn each and every day from my peers, and my clients.  

Ken Lockard, our chairman, always says that, "we should never, ever, ever stop learning."  I strongly believe that if we only work to live, then our minds become clouded, and we aren't able to achieve our greatest potential.  How many of us know that one guy, or people for that matter, that constantly complain about their jobs, the people they work with, their paychecks, and so on and so forth.  Sometimes I just want to grab 'em and shake 'em and say, "WAKE UP, there is so much more out there for you!  You have so much more potential!"       

If you're waking up in the morning and just working to live, then you probably need to ask yourself, what can I do to change?  Listen, we all spend countless hours in our jobs every day, and it is so much better when you enjoy what you do rather than just coasting along in a funk.  Believe me, I've been in those jobs prior to going to work at Lockard 11 years ago.  You know what I'm talking about; the jobs where you can barely drag yourself out of bed in the morning to get up and go to work.  It is a terrible feeling.

Don't misunderstand me, if we overdo it with the whole "living to work" thing, it can consume us if we let it.  Trust me, this is a huge fault of mine.  I love what I do so much that work starts to take over and take a higher priority than other things in my life.  I need to constantly put God, family, work in the proper order.     

I am just so thankful that I have a great place to work, have the best team to work with, and have a great family that supports me day in and day out.  All of them combined make me a better person each and every day. 

Until next time...

Business Relationships - Are they worth the time?

In today's day and age, we're all busy, right?  I mean we can use that excuse 'til the cows come home, but the reality is that everyone is, so it's not really an excuse anymore is it?  We live in a technological age, and we rely upon our Blackberries, iPhones, and PCs and Macs to communicate more and more.  Don't get me wrong, I consider myself a huge techie, and I can't live without my Crackberry; I communicate everyday through texts and emails.  However, I have to consciously make an effort to meet with my clients face to face.  An email and text are great, but I am confident that in order to build a solid relationship one must be willing to meet in person.  This also means calling our clients back on the phone which, if you're like me, find extremely difficult sometimes.  

Relationships are what make or break a business.  Our company, Lockard Companies, was founded in 1951, and our growth has been based solely upon business relationships.  If you know me well, you know I like to use the phrase, "it takes a long time to build a reputation, but it only takes a day to screw it up."  Isn't that true?  I mean, the purpose of building relationships doesn't mean to just carve your piece out of a deal and run.  It means to grow the pie, dig deep, and learn from the other person.  People continually ask me, "how in the world are you getting all of these business opportunities?"  My answer always seems to be the same - relationships.  In fact, I believe in relationships so much that I have asked our managment team to think about adding relationships as one of our company core values.      

I had the privilege of serving as chairman of the Networking Advisory Board of the CCIM Institute a couple of years ago, and one of the things that I had to keep hitting home is that people do business with people they know, like, and trust.  Does that happen overnight?  Absolutely not!  We must build upon our relationships.  There are a lot of people that I have been building relationships with for over the past five to ten years, but have yet to do a deal with them.  Should I give up on those relationships?  Not in a million years!  It takes time.  Isn't it true that good things come to those who wait?  If we go into a business relationship expecting to get something out of it immediately, we are sorely mistaken, and you should probably consider the relationship already dead.  Don't go into a business relationship asking what can I get out of it, rather ask yourself what can I give to this relationship to make it better and grow.  If it grows, everyone wins, and future business is usually inevitable. 

Be willing to invest time with someone today - it's definitely worth it!    

Are You A Risk Taker?



Webster's Dictionary defines the word risk as 1) a possibility of loss or injury; and 2) someone or something that creates or suggests a hazard.  

It blows me away that nowhere in the definition of the word do you see anything positive.  Every single version I could find only showed negativity.  Is that how you view risk?  I think most people go through life thinking risk is a negative thing rather than looking at it positively.  

What ever happened to going out on a limb?  When did we lose that willingness to get that big win?  Please understand, I'm not a gambler, so I am not talking about going to the Blackjack table and risking it all to hopefully get a big win.  I'm talking about risk in the business world.  Do you believe enough in what you are doing, that you're willing to take a risk now and again?  Do you think you may have a creative way to solve a problem that is outside of the norm, or is way outside of the box?  

There is a huge difference between what I would call a dumb risk and an intelligent risk.  Hopefully you and I don't take too many dumb risks in our careers, or else all of us would be cleaning out our desks and updating our resumes.  Intelligent risks, however, are totally worth it in my opinion.  The key is to make sure that the downside potential is limited, and the potential upside is basically unlimited.

If you run your own company, or are a manager of a department, do you have an atmosphere where employees are able to take risks?  Do you stymie them from spreading their wings, or do you encourage them and back them up for the risks they take?  If they feel like they will get shot down, written up in their personnel files, or just plain fired, than you need to communicate that you're willing to support them in the risks they take.  That doesn't mean to support them in dumb risks; they must be well thought out and intelligent risks.  What's the downside, right?  In addition, they must be willing to see YOU take risks!  If you don't take risks how is he/she going to feel that it is an accepted practice at your office?

A great leader should not be risk averse, rather he should be willing to take an intelligent risk now and again.  Taking risks is like visiting a big city that you have never been to for the first time. You're going to feel out of your element at first, but hopefully you'll begin to enjoy the challenge of getting around in an unfamiliar place and start to feel comfortable being uncomfortable!

Benefits Of Being A CCIM

Last October, I was in Orlando at the CCIM Business Meetings, and was interviewed by some CCIM staff members for some video promotions they were doing for the Institute.  If you are in the commercial real estate arena, and/or would like to get involved in commercial real estate, then CCIM is a great organization to begin your quest. 

If you are a CCIM Designee, I would love to hear why you chose to become a CCIM.  For me, it was a matter or either pursuing my Master's Degree or obtaining the CCIM Designation.  I chose the CCIM path because I wanted to push myself in my own career, and be one of the few commercial real estate practitioners who have the coveted CCIM Designation.  It was a choice I will never regret.  I would highly encourage you to do the same!   You can visit CCIM's webpage at www.ccim.com.  

Here's the video:

 

Vision - What Is It Really?

"A great leader's courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position." - John Maxwell

I absolutely love that quote by John Maxwell.  He really hits the nail on the head.  Too many times leaders lead because they want the position rather than leading from passion.  Leaders have to have vision.  They have to be willing to look into the future and have a sense of where they want to go, and where they want their organizations to go.  That vision must be conveyed to everyone in the organization, and the leader must believe - with passion - that the vision can become a reality. 

If a leader tries to convey his vision by jamming it down everyone's throat, and lets position take over rather than passion, then one day he'll look back and and realize that no one is following.  Vision must be something that everyone can get behind and support - otherwise you must take a minute to take the lens cap off, or just plain clean the dirty lens. 

Vision is an opportunity to dream; to spread your wings and think about the unthinkable; it's about passion; it's about the future of the organization; and most importantly - it's NOT about you! 

Keep dreaming and keep cleaning off your lenses, because we all need a cleaner AND clearer view now and again.

Until next time....

Don't Miss The Target

This past week I had the opportunity to play a couple games at Top Golf in Dallas.  If you haven't played before, it is basically a driving range on steroids.  The balls have a scanner on them and you hit the balls into the various targets on the range.  The targets are set up like dartboards with lower point totals on the outside rings and higher points towards the bullseyes.  It really becomes a game of precision and is a lot of fun. 

Several times throughout the course of the game(s), I missed the target I was going for and landed in one of the other ones.  Some of the games allow you to get points in the other targets, others give you negative points for hitting the wrong target.  

It made me think about how I set my priorities.  I always have a target that I'm shooting for, but what happens when I get off the mark?  Do I just settle for second-best?  I think sometimes it can be easy to just settle and say, "there's always next time."  We should never settle for second-best in anything that we do.  If we give our all, we can push ourselves to a target that is beyond what we think we can achieve.  Don't get me wrong, we're going to miss the target from time to time, but don't get discouraged - instead shoot for the bullseye next time around.  You'll be glad you did.

Conflict of Interest

I just got done reading a great book entitled "Negotiation Genius" by Deepak Malhotra and Max Bazerman.  I would highly recommend it if you want to tune up your negotiation skills.  Our entire management team read it and thoroughly enjoyed it.  

One of the quotes that stood out to me in the book was by Upton Sinclair.  He said this, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." 

This simple statement opened my eyes as I thought about people that I negotiate with on a daily basis.  In the commercial real estate industry, we deal with all sorts of people: engineers, architects, property managers, brokers, developers, attorneys, bankers, government agencies, and city officials just to name a few.  Each one is unique and different in his own way. 

Recently, I was dealing with a large issue on one of our development projects in Texas with one of the groups mentioned above.  It became very clear to me that Sinclair's quote was extremely prevalent in our negotiation.  The guy was afraid that he would work himself out of a job if he moved things along faster than they wanted to go.  Talk about frustrating, and talk about a conflict in interest!      

So how do you solve this issue that is outside of your control?  We had to try and solicit advice and expertise from people who did not have a stake in the outcome and who didn't profit from manipulating his behaviors and decisions.  Deepak said it best in his book, "Most of us view conflicts of interest as a genuine societal problem that must be remedied.  We understand that conflicts of interest can contort people's judgments.  Yet we have trouble believing that they affect our own judgments." 

When we enter into a negotiation, we have to remember that each one of us brings our own biases, and behaviors to the negotiation table with us.  Before we enter into the negotiation, we must realize our own fallibilities as well.  Not an easy thing to do, but something we all can consciously think about and grow from! 

The 800 Pound Gorilla

Yesterday I was in Dallas, Texas, and I had the privilege of touring some sites with Tom, the real estate broker for the 800lb gorilla of retailers.  I was amazed at how he viewed sites in a completely different way than I was accustomed to.  Let me just say that this guy is a stud; he has done over 300 stores for this retailer in Texas alone!  I would have paid some serious cash just to be able to get the schooling that I did yesterday, but thankfully he is a friend and wants our company, and me for that matter, to succeed going forward.  

Tom's just an ordinary guy.  He's a Texan to the core.  He works hard each and every day.  You see, when you're working with a client like he has, the ups & downs go with the territory.  I can't even imagine how much time it takes just to get the deals to go to contract, let alone the ones you work on forever that fall out of bed.  Working through them is hard enough, but these aren't deals that just happen overnight.  He has way more patience than I do that's for sure.  All that being said, the one thing that stands out more than anything is Tom's humbleness.  Even having done 300 stores for this 800lb gorilla, he remains humble to the core.  I never once heard, "yeah, I did this or I did that," in a prideful way.

At our company, humility is one of our three core values.  I constantly have to ask myself, "do I live that out on a daily basis, or do I let my ego set in and take control?"  The minute I do, everything else becomes futile.  I constantly need to work on being humble.  In the commercial real estate world, humility seems like a four letter word. 

I just appreciated the time I had with Tom, and how, unknowingly to him, he taught me more than he'll ever know!

When the going gets tough...

We've all been there before.  You know, the times in our lives where it seems like we can't seem to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and we have to ask ourselves the all important question: "Should I just quit?". 

Today, I watched in disbelief as my Chicago Bears went down in flames because their quarterback decided to "ride the pine" rather than finish strong.  This presented a very unique opportunity for two other quarterbacks on the Bears, and it ended up that the 3rd string QB (Hanie) decided to play hard and try and lead a team from a 14-0 deficit to a win in the 4th quarter.  He did a fantastic job under tremendous pressure and stress.     

I never want to be in the position of quitting.  It is against everything that I believe in.  You see, when someone quits, that means an opportunity presents itself to someone else.  I give Hanie major kudos for trying.  He had that feeling deep down that he could do it; he could lead them to victory.  That's the kind of attitude that we need to have on a daily basis.  You know the one.  The one that says, "I can do this, I can push myself past the limits of what I think I can do."  It's not easy, believe me, and I fail miserably so many times, but I do want to be the guy who tries.  

In my favorite book - The Bible - Paul says in Philippians 3:12-14:

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."     

Never give up.....................Keep pressing on!

The Weary Traveler

I sit here tonight across from the L2C gate at O'Hare Airport in Chicago run down, exhausted, and just plain frustrated.  You see, like always, flying through O'Hare becomes a nightmare.  It never fails.  I tell myself over and over again - "DO NOT FLY THROUGH O'HARE IN THE WINTER," but pricing trumps my conscience, and I realize once again, there is a reason why flights are always cheaper flying through here instead of another Hub City.  I can go months without having a delay, cancellation, or any other strange occurrence, but Chicago always leaves me with all three! 


I am on my way home from a great Leadership Summit in NW Arkansas with the Soderquist Center.  If you have never heard of this great organization, visit them here: www.soderquist.org They truly transform companies and help make better leaders.  We've had the privilege of utilizing their services for our company at Lockard and with the CCIM Institute and they have taken us to places that we never thought we could go and things we never thought we could achieve.   


I was traveling down there yesterday and had to leave the house at 5am for a 6:55am flight out of Cedar Rapids.  Of course, without fail, we had a blizzard the night before and I couldn't plow the driveway for my wife because I couldn't really fire up the snow blower at 4:30am and wake up all of my neighbors.  It couldn't happen any other day, of course not, just the day I'm leaving.  A normal 45 minute drive to Cedar Rapids turned into an hour and a half and I arrived at 6:20am for a 6:55 flight which I find out is delayed due to a mechanical problem until 7:30am.  No problem, still time to make my connection in Chicago.  We (Jamie, our President of Construction) board the plane, and we end up sitting on the plane for an hour and 45 minutes because of an ATC (Air Traffic Control) hold in Chicago - of course!  So, making our connection is now totally out of the question, and this means that we'll have to catch another flight to NW Arkansas.  We finally take off and land in Chicago and then sit on the tarmac @ O'Hare for another 30 minutes because our gate was occupied.  When we landed I looked at Jamie and said, "you do realize that we could have driven all the way to Chicago and we'd be here by now, dont' you?"  I hate that feeling. 


We made it to NW Arkansas several hours late, had a wonderful time at the leadership summit.  Then it came time to head back to the airport to leave....again I have to make the dreaded stop @ O'Hare.  Jamie took off for Dallas on his way to Oklahoma City.  He has no problems, but for me.......well you guessed it, an ATC hold - again - delayed the flight for an hour out of NW Arkansas.  I land in Chicago and then ATC caused another hold here to get to Cedar Rapids.  The reader board goes from a 9:45pm departure to a 10:12pm departure, to a 10:30pm departure, to a 12:11am departure.  You should of heard the gasps and people becoming irate at the gate.  I mean, it sounded like someone took their babies, dogs, car, house, or something else of severe importance.  Without fail there is always that one guy who will be "the guy."  He's the one that gets everyone all wound up.  He's the "neighborhood spokesman" who doesn't want Walmart to locate a store in his neighborhood's backyard.  He's the one who has to make sure that everyone knows he has to be heard. 


Believe me, I've been there.  I used to work for American Airlines at the gate in Dallas/Fort Worth, and I know how these people can treat you.  I've had my tie pulled, been cussed at, and everything in between.  I feel for these people at the airport.  They always get their heads bit off for no reason. By the tone of "Mr. Know-It-All," you would have thought that the gate agent was responsible for the Kennedy assassination, the disappearance of Hoffa, and 9/11.  The poor girl at the counter didn't do anything.  She can't control the guys in the tower or the planes on the ground.  I have huge empathy for her as I know she has been there time and time again.  It's not like she can get home to her family either.  She has to wait until we get out, so she can leave for the night.  I don't think she enjoys working until midnight, when she should be done around 10pm. 


It is in times like these that I just have to go out of my way and tell them that they are doing a great job and that I need to apologize for the behavior of the Iowan who just totally flipped out.


One of the best quotes I heard at the Leadership Summit this week wasn't from Don Soderquist, or Chuck Hyde, or Tom Verdery or any other high-profile leaders.  (Believe me, they had unbelievable information to share).  It was by a guy named Colby from a small town in Texas.  He probably only said about two words during the whole summit, but when he spoke at the end of the day, it was awesome.  He said this:


"People don't care what you know, until they know that you care." 


We can't lead our organizations, our homes, our churches, or anything until people know that you truly and deeply care.  I'd encourage you, go out of your way to show others you care.  It goes a long way!