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Patience

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Blogger’s Block

by Ron Potter

Writer’s Block

Writer’s block is a real thing. I’ve seen my wife and daughter (who are both writers) go through it, so I’ve seen it firsthand. However, I’ve never experienced blogger’s block before. I’ve always had plenty of things to write about and it seemed like they always came easy when I was ready to begin writing. In fact, I had great difficulty narrowing down the subject that I was going to blog about. However, this one has been different. Part of the reason is that I’ve been so focused on my health conditions lately that no other subjects have been present. But now is the time to break out of that funk. I’m sure that my lack of blogging this week has driven Pete nuts. He is the person who finalizes these blogs and publishes them. Sorry about that Pete. I’ll try to get ahead of things a little bit here.

When I told my wife the other day that I was having difficulty coming up with this blog, she said, “Well, write about the difficulty.”

One Dimensional

My life has become too one-dimensional lately. I need to break out of it before it just consumes me. So:

  1. When people ask how I’m doing, I simply say, “Fair,” and try to leave it at that.
  2. I’ve tried to get out in our neighborhood and do more walking. Yesterday I met two new couples who have moved in during the past several months. It was great talking to them without focusing on my own health issues.
  3. We had some friends visit last week from Florida. They’ve been friends for over 50 years. They wanted to know about my health issues, but I kept it to a minimum and it seemed to satisfy them.

Our Own Issues

We can easily be overcome and overly focused on our own issues. My issues are not going to go away. However, they don’t need to take over my life either. I know I’ve mentioned my dad in earlier blogs. He lost a leg in WWII, but I never heard him complain, and like many of that “silent” generation, I never really heard him talk about his experiences except for a few humorous stories. I know that his health continued to deteriorate, and he passed away at the very young age of 53. In talking with my cousins, they speak of my dad in very positive words about his humor and knowledge. He was an awesome human being and could have easily focused on his health issues but never did.

Enjoy Life

Our lives can become very self-centered for many reasons. Don’t let it. God has a plan for us. It may include difficulties but never includes being without Him. Enjoy the life you have and the people who have been placed around you. It’s a whole lot better than being self-centered.

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BlogCultureFacing Adversity

Persecuted

by Ron Potter

We’ve been looking at a text written over 2,000 years ago.  A partial reading of the text says that we are afflicted in every way, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down.

In this blog we’ll be looking at the third word on the list, persecuted.  One of the definitions from the dictionary is “Subject to hostility and ill-treatment.”  Another one says to “harass or annoy persistently.”  While being annoyed by someone can be humorous (for a period of time), the other words of hostility, ill-treatment, and harassment are powerful, personal, and damaging.

Dealing With Persecution

One of my favorite fictional characters is Jack Reacher from the novels written by Lee Child.  Reacher, retired from the Military Police, is simply walking across the United States to see it up close and in person.  However, his “simple” walk turns into some sort of personal persecution in almost every small town.  It’s interesting to me that even though he is unjustly persecuted in each novel, Reacher never seems to be too upset by the persecution. He simply starts some logical investigative work that he learned in the military to “get at” what is causing the persecution.

As our ancient text says, we will be persecuted for no apparent reason. Reacher lives with that kind of persecution everywhere he goes.  The text says nothing about justly or unjustly, it just says we will be persecuted.  Almost nothing makes us feel worse than being persecuted.

Tough to Deal With

Unlike the first two words of our text, persecution is personal.  It feels like we are being harmed.

I was working with one company for several years when my client saw me enter the office of someone he didn’t trust.  He immediately called me to his office and fired me.  He also began to persecute me.  He bad-mouthed me whenever he had the chance.  He identified me as a liar and troublemaker.  He said I could not be trusted and therefore should not work with anyone else at the company.  I was devastated.  I had always maintained a very high reputation at all the companies I had worked for and this seemed to be both personal and very damaging.

I talked with this person’s boss (whom I had also worked for and believed I had a good reputation with).  The boss gave me some advice.  He told me that when this person found out that none of the accusations were true (the boss still believed in me), he would never apologize (it wasn’t in his nature) but he would ask me to continue working for him as if nothing had happened.  The boss was right.  Within a couple of months, the person asked me to come to his office and began talking about what needed to be done next with his team.  He never apologized but simply went on about our work together as if nothing had happened.  In fact, I worked with him and his teams at two other companies when he took new jobs.

Persecuted

Persecution happened.  I almost quit consulting believing I had done something very wrong or bad, but just didn’t know what.  I was being heavily persecuted but it seemed to come from nowhere.  Our ancient text doesn’t say that we will deserve the persecution, it just says we will be persecuted.

Sometimes we’re persecuted for a reason.  Maybe we were the first to persecute the other person and now it’s payback time.  But that’s not what the text is referring to.  It doesn’t give a reason.  It simply says we will experience persecution.  To deal with the persecution there is reason to examine yourself to make sure you were not the instigator, but like my example above and the text says, “you will be persecuted.”  When that happens, the only advice I have is to be patient with yourself.  You may never know why you were feeling persecuted.  The text simply says “you will be persecuted.”  This takes a lot of humility and grit.  It’s not easy to remain calm during persecution—but be patient.  Eventually, things will clear up.

Read the next post in the series.
Facing Adversity
Afflicted in Every Way
Perplexed
Persecuted
Struck Down
Ancient Text
Regrets—Text to Corinthians
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BlogMyers Briggs Type IndicatorMyers-Briggs

Myers Briggs Type Indicator: Where Decisions Are Made

by Ron Potter

We’re going to take this break because the last two functions (Sensing-Intuition & Thinking-Feeling) are the two functions that make up our decision-making process.

Energizing

The Energizing function doesn’t come into play in our decision process except that we must be in our preferred function (extraversion or introversion) in order to make our best decision.

If we have a preference for introversion, but because of norms or a particular leader, we are required to make decisions during the meeting or on the spot, we’ll make a decision but we will remain uncomfortable.  For the introverted person to make the best decision, it would be better to take a break so they can think clearly before asking them to make a decision.

If we have a preference for extraversion, energy remains high during conversations and it seems easier to make decisions that we’re comfortable with.  Our quiet times are useful to think about the many options and maybe even rank-order them.  But we’re never quite comfortable with a decision if we don’t have the opportunity to bounce our thinking off someone else.  This ability to talk through a decision gives us confidence.  I once heard a person with extraversion preferences make the statement “How do I know what I think until I hear what I say?”  Perfect summarizing statement!

But neither extraversion nor introversion contribute to our decisions, they are simply environments that allow for better or more confident decisions.

Decision Functions

The next two functions, perceiving and deciding, are exactly where our decisions are made.  Of the sixteen Myers-Briggs Types, the second function will be either sensing or intuition (Perceiving) and the third function will be either thinking or feeling (Deciding).  For instance, my preference is ENTJ. My second function (Perceiving) is iNtuition and my third function (Deciding) is thinking.  I must have these two functions satisfied in order to make a decision.

Which Function is First?

It is the first (Energizing) and last function (Orientation) that determine which of the two functions lead.  When we get to the last function (Orientation) it will identify us as having a preference for either judging or perceiving (J vs P). You will recall from a previous blog that the third function (T-F) is called your Deciding function but it was originally described as your Judging function.

The last function (Orientation) will indicate if you have a preference for either judging or perceiving (J-P).  This indicates your preferred world.  If your preferred world is judging, then you will prefer to start your decision-making process with the deciding (Judging) process.  If your preferred world is perceiving, then you will prefer to start your decision-making process with your perceiving process.

ENTJ Example

I mentioned earlier that my MBTI preference is ENTJ.  This means that I will rely on the Perceiving function of iNtuition and my Deciding function of thinking in order to make my best decisions (ENTJ).  But, which of the NT functions do I tend to begin with?  My last function (orientation) is J.  This J refers to the original Judging function, now called the Deciding function.  This means that I prefer to start with thinking then back it up with iNtuition.

Had my preference been ENTP, I would have preferred to start with the Perceiving Function of iNtuition and then back it up with the Judging (Deciding) function of thinking.

It’s important to know this sequence because I used the term “back up” in the previous paragraphs.  For instance, my preference for ENTJ will start the decision-making process based on logic.  However, I will back this up based on my iNtuition of what the right decision should be.  So, even though I make decisions that seem logical, I also make them based on what I perceive to be the right decision.

What does the World See?

The last function helps us understand one more thing about our decision-making process.  We will tend to use our lead decision-making process in our preferred world.  The preferred world for extraverts is out talking with people.  The preferred world for introverts is quietly thinking.  This means that for the ENTJ, the world is exposed to and engaged in my lead decision-making process of thinking.  I’ll use the iNtuitive process to think about the decisions long-term implications or to support how iNtuitively I see the world.

Personal ENTJ/INFP Example

One of the best ways to understand the J vs P preference (last function) is to think about non-work time.  At work, we have often figured out that a good balancing act pays high rewards.  In our non-work time, we tend to function much less guarded.

Let’s look at vacation time.  Because of my “J” function at the end, I like to have my vacation time structured and decided.  I want to know arrival and departure times, where we’ll be staying, when and where do we have meal times scheduled and when are we scheduled to “have fun!”  Yes, even our “fun” time is scheduled!  My wife is just the opposite —everything should be spontaneous!

I decided I needed to give her some vacation time built around her preferences because usually, my “J” preference won out over her “P” preference.  So I made it clear to her that I wanted to give her a vacation that fit her preference.  She was thrilled!  But as our vacation time approached, my “J” would attempt to seize back control.  “Where are we going?”  “When are we leaving?”  “What should we pack?”  etc.  But with each of my questions, she responded that she didn’t know yet.  I finally received an indication that she wanted to go “antiquing.”

The day of our departure came.  I drove to the end of the driveway, stopped, then asked “Left or Right?”  She thought for a minute (she also has a preference for introversion), then finally said “Right.”  These Left-Right questions continued for the entire week through five states of our vacation.

As we drove we would see a sign for an antique store at the next exit.  Normally, when she wanted to stop at one of these stores, I would look at my watch and make a statement something to the effect of  “Sorry, we don’t have the time built into our schedule.”  But on this trip, my response was “Sure!”  I was slowly learning.  When we pulled up out front I wouldn’t ask “How long will we be here?”  As we entered the store I wouldn’t ask “What are we looking for?”  Once in the store, she might spot a cute little salt and pepper set.  I would ask “Can I find some more of those for you?”  That would put me on the hunt and firmly in my “J” mode.

We would leave the store and get back on the road and I”m thinking (I bet it’s going to be Strawberry Festival in the next town and there won’t be a room within 50 miles).  And then she would say “I’m tired, let’s stop at the next B&B and rest for the afternoon and evening.”  I’m thrilled.

And so the next several days went in a pure spontaneous “P” mode.  I painfully survived but she enjoyed every minute.

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BlogTeamTeam Series

Team Elements – Respect: Patience, Kindness

by Ron Potter

In our last post, we looked at the first three elements of great respect: Humility, Development, and Compassion.

Respect is the second component of great teamwork.

This week we’ll unpack further elements of Respect: Patience and Kindness.

In our final post on Patience, we’ll explore Anger and Grudges.

Patience

In today’s high paced world of do, do, do and go, go, go, we seldom think of patience as being an element of great teams.  The early Greek word that Aristotle would have used always related to people, not projects.

One of our modern-day dictionary definitions says:

Stay calm and not get annoyed.  Especially when something takes a long time, or when someone is not doing what you want them to do.

Another definition talks about not responding with annoyance or anger when faced with pain or suffering.  Patience doesn’t happen without suffering.

How often do you get annoyed by the pain and suffering of delay or what we see as incompetence?  If you’re like me, the answer is “way too often.”  However, it’s important to make sure that we don’t distribute the frustration and annoyance evenly.

When we’re part of a team it means we have responsibility and accountability to the team and team members.  Situations can be annoying.  Systems can be annoying.  People can be annoying.  But, if our goal is to grow the team, experience our own growth within the team,  and accomplish some great things together than we must keep our annoyance in check when it comes to people.

Annoyance can and will be triggered for many different reasons.  I could never list all the reasons but many that come to mind for me include:

  • Someone moving too fast or too slow to satisfy me.
  • Not doing the work the way I think it should be done.
  • Focusing on the long-term when we have pressing issues in the short term.  And vica versa.
  • Not honoring the values of the team in their work

Without going into great detail let’s look at some quick answers or reasons why you shouldn’t think of them as annoying

  • Everyone moves at a different speed.  The key is to know what deadlines are real and sticking to them.  Hold team members accountable when deadlines are missed.
  • We each work in different ways.  The key is the outcome.  Did you or the teammate get the results that were expected and needed?  If not, make sure clarification is achieved with everyone.  I’ve found that teams at high levels don’t spend enough time on clarification because they assume they’ve been there before, they assume they understand what is needed, they assume their pace and approach will be sufficient.  Notice the word assume used in every case.  I still remember a high school teacher explaining that “assume” makes an “ass” of “u” and “me.”  Don’t be an ass.  Don’t assume.
  • Each of our brains works in different ways.  On the Myers-Briggs assessment, there is a function referred to as the perceiving function.  Those who land on the “intuitive” side of perception think in conceptual terms.  They focus on the future and must have an image of what that future should be in order to deal with the daily details.  Those who fall on the sensing side of that function, work very much in the “here and now” so that they can understand how to get to a future state.  Both ways of perceiving are valid.  But each can also annoy the other.  Appreciate, honor and use the differences to help the team achieve at the highest level.

Kindness

I’m going to go back to Aristotle’s original word for this category which is Love.  I’ve converted his original word to Respect because I believe business teams are less confused by the word Respect.  As I’ve mentioned earlier, the Greeks had several words that English translates into the word love.  The word that Aristotle used was agape.  I’m going to use a definition that I believe was put forth by Chip Ingram.

“Giving someone what they

    • need the most
    • deserve the least
    • at great personal expense.”

Need the most

This implies that you’ve gotten to know a person well enough to know what they may need at the moment.  Do you know your teammates as human beings or simply as human doings (know them for what they do, not who they are)?

Deserve the least

I haven’t met many business leaders or team members that have bad intentions.  However, I’ve observed a lot of bad action.  People often do things that are counter to their intentions.  A person may have just done something that makes us think they don’t deserve help, assistance, care, understanding, etc.

At great personal expense

Kindness requires that we sacrifice some of our own needs to provide what another person needs the most at the moment.  It may require us to provide the time that we don’t seem to have at the moment.  It may require us to have the courage to step into a situation that would be must easier to simply avoid.  It may require us to delay crucial decisions to build team unity.  There is a cost.

I’m going to close this section with a line from one of my favorite books titled Anyway – The Paradoxical Commandments by Kent Keith.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.  Help people anyway.

Patience and Kindness are at the heart of building great teams!

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BlogCulture

The Three Most Misunderstood Words in Business

by Ron Potter

photo-1464958674501-4dc3d73d8f46

Knowing something is different than knowing the name of something.

Shane Parrish of Farnam Street Blog spoke of this concept from Richard Feynman, the Nobel winning Physicist.

The Feynman Technique formula for learning is based on knowing the difference.  I want to talk about the three words that seem to suffer from this concept.

Humble, Love and Tolerant

Humble

Most people seem to think that being humble is a weakness.  They relate it to being a push over or a doormat.  They think that humble people don’t stand up to the pressure of their own convictions.  Quite the contrary.

The original word for humility is tightly coupled with the word meek (also completely misunderstood).  But the word meek meant tremendous power under complete control.  A humble or meek person has all the power they need to wield; they simply keep it under control so that they can relate to and understand others.

Humility is derived from the Latin word humus meaning grounded.  A humble leader is well grounded, standing firm.

Humility requires leaders to shed all their prejudices and biases and examine who they are and what they have become.  Humility leads to openness, teachability and flexibility.

Love

I know of at least two situations where I have either been asked to use a different word or was asked not to work in a company because “Business is a rough and tumble world with no room for foolish things like love.”  Aristotle speaks of love as being one of the key elements to the highest level of happiness and the framework for great team work.  The Greeks had at least 3 words that translate into our one English world love.  Agape, the word that Aristotle used refers to how we treat other people, not about being emotionally or physically “in love” with them.  How we respect and treat others (boss, peers, direct reports, customers, investors, etc.) has everything to do with business.  Love may be the leading indicator of success in business.

Tolerate

This word is widely used in many situations today and I will assume that people mean well by it.  But in some cases, behavior reflects the true meaning of the word rather than the implied meaning.

The medical definition of tolerate is: “be capable of continued subjection to (a drug, toxin, or environmental condition) without adverse reaction.”  The non-medical definition sends the same signal: “accept or endure (someone or something unpleasant or disliked) with forbearance”

Neither of those definitions is very pleasant and shouldn’t be tolerated.

What we mean to say is have patience.

Once again people assume the word patience means to not hold people accountable.  But the true concept of the word infers calmness, stability and persistent courage in trying circumstances.  It speaks of respect for others when there is disagreement.

Be humble, love one another and have some patience.  Everyone is unique.  Out of that uniqueness can be built great teams.

tlc-meme-11%2f17

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Absurd!BlogIn-Depth Book Reviews

Absurd!: Giving Up Management Techniques

by Ron Potter

photo-1454023989775-79520f04322cI’m continuing my series on an in-depth look at a wonderful little book that’s twenty years old this year.  The title is Management of the Absurd by Richard Farson.  You may want to consider dropping back and reading the previous blogs about ABSURD!  I think it will put each new one in great context.

Chapter 4 is titled: “Once You Find a Management Technique that Works, Give it Up”.

Farson states “The most obvious reason is that any management technique loses its power when it becomes evident that it is a technique.”

Technique is not a bad thing in and of itself.  One definition states “a skillful or efficient way of doing or achieving something.”  We actually spend most of our lives and certainly most of our business lives figuring out skillful and efficient ways of doing things.  And, for the most part, we get paid and promoted for getting even more skillful and efficient at doing things over time.  But note that it’s about doing things.

You might remember from our last blog that we need to relate to each other as Human Beings, not Human Doings.  Getting skillful and efficient at doing things is evaluated differently than being skillful and efficient at “doing” human beings.  Human beings require empathy, trust and patience and that will vary with each person.  Farson says “It is the ability to meet each situation armed not with a battery of techniques but with openness that permits a genuine response.”  Genuine response is the key.  People immediately notice if you’re using a technique on them vs being genuine.  People know!

Reciprocity Rule.  As stated by Farson:

One of the most useful ideas to remember is what we might call the “reciprocity rule” of human behavior: that over time, people come to share, reciprocally, similar attitudes toward each other.

That is, if I have a low opinion of you, then while you may for a time hold a high opinion of me, it is unlikely that your high opinion will persist.  Eventually you will come to feel about me the way I feel about you.

We believe we can acquire techniques that will hide our true feelings about people and enable us to convey an image of ourselves which they will respect, even though we do not respect them.  (Sounds like politicians to me)

Ultimately, people discover who we are and come to regard us as we regard them.  If we genuinely respect our colleagues and employees, those feelings will be communicated without the need for artifice or technique.  And they will be reciprocated.

Sounds a lot like something referred to as the Golden Rule.  Do onto others…..

Being a leader is being genuine.  There’s an old line that says “The key is sincerity.  Once you can fake that you’ve got it made.”  Guess what, you can’t fake it.  If you want to lead people you must be genuine.  You must look on them as human beings’ worthy of respect.  It’s the only thing that creates leaders that people want to follow.

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BlogTeam

Patience – A Balancing Act

by Ron Potter
Source: WorldIslandInfo.com, Creative Commons

Source: WorldIslandInfo.com, Creative Commons

I think building great teams is tough. If you’re in a sports related environment, it’s more obvious that you need to build teams of your five, nine, or eleven players (or some other number). And even in these environments where the value of building a team is so crucial, it’s still difficult. In a corporate environment where it’s not quite as obvious that building a great team is necessary, it’s even more difficult to put in the effort to create a great team.

But for anyone who has been part of a great corporate team, the value of making the effort is undeniable. Patience is a key element to team building. However patience is hard to define or understand and difficult to balance.

Patience: “The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.”

One of the images that I really enjoy is the two magnificent lions protecting the entrance to the New York Public Library. Their names are Patience and Fortitude.

Patience and fortitude. The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset and at the same time fortitude: courage, bravery, endurance, resilience.

Patience with self vs. Patience with others.

I’ve seen one Vice President get very upset with a 2nd Vice President when he did not think his colleague was dealing with what he considered to be an incompetent employee. What was interesting to me is that I was working with both VPs and I knew that each of them was dealing with a direct report that needed to be moved to a new position where they had a greater chance of success. Both VPs did successfully deal with the situation and both worked hard at accomplishing it in the most successful way possible. But while VP#1 seemed to exhibit great patience in dealing with his direct report (because he respected him and believed he deserved patience) he didn’t exhibit the same patience for the other employee or the VP who was proceeding down a similar path. How much control you have over the situation affects your level of patience.

Gumption and Patience

“Successful investing requires this crazy combination of gumption and patience, and then being ready to pounce when the opportunity presents itself, because in this world, opportunities just don’t last very long,” says Charlie Munger of Berkshire Hathaway. “It’s waiting that helps you as an investor and a lot of people just can’t stand to wait. If you didn’t get the deferred gratification gene, you’ve got to work very hard to overcome that.”

Investors in People

Charlie Munger is an investor in companies.  But, as you watch and read more and more about how he and his partner, Warren Buffet, decide on what companies to invest in, they’re really looking at the leaders of those companies who have built great teams.

Leaders are Investors in People.

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BlogTeam

3 Keys to a Great Team

by Ron Potter
Source: Petras Gagilas, Creative Commons

Source: Petras Gagilas, Creative Commons

We celebrated the life of a great team builder recently. Dr. Carl was 83 years old when he passed away. Carl, as we comfortably called him, was our family doctor for many years who cared for us through minor illnesses and major auto accidents.

The overflowing crowd at the church came from the many circles of Carl’s life. His family including his wife and sister, three kids with their spouses and many grand children laughed and cried at the memories of their husband, brother, dad and grandfather.

And yet the room was filled with friends, colleagues from the medical community, patients like ourselves, members of the police department and members of his local church.
And while we might not consider the hundreds of people at that church today a traditional team, we feel like a team. Carl’s team. What was it about Carl that made us all feel close to each other today, even if we had never met before?

As the pastor began to share, often through tears of his own, he began to emphasize three major traits of Carl that seemed to come through loud and clear over a lifetime:

  1. Humility
  2. Kindness
  3. Patience

Humility

Humility is the foundation and bedrock of any great leader. We called him Carl. He was comfortable with that. He didn’t insist that it be “Dr. Such-and-such”. It was Carl. He was there to help.

Kindness

Exhibiting kindness. Carl did not merely deal kindly with you as a patient, but with you as a human being. We don’t give kindness enough credit in building great teams. If you desire a great team, care for them greatly.

Patience

“Well, he was working on patience,” as the pastor said, but as you listened to the stories, the impatience was with himself or things or circumstances, not people. He was always patient with people.

We were part of a great team today and it felt good!

Have you thought about humility, kindness and patience being tools of a great team building effect? If you haven’t, you’ll never be a part of that great team.
Tell us your stories about how one or more of these tools have been used (or abused) on your teams.

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Adirondack Golf
Blog

Adirondack Golf

by Ron Potter
Adirondack Golf

Image Source: John Haslam, Creative Commons

Adirondack Golf Courses. That’s the title of a book written by J. Peter Martin, a local pro in the Adirondack area. A client of mine sent me a copy for enjoyment and it was enjoyable.

I really related to the opening section titled “Golf and Life.”

“The main idea in golf as in life is to learn to accept what cannot be altered and to keep on doing one’s own resolute best whether the prospect be bleak or rosy.”

Life, like golf has its ups and downs. In golf if you can approach your “situation”, be it sitting just right in the middle of the fairway or stymied behind a tree, with a calm approach to do the best you can, you will experience the most success and the most enjoyment in your game.

I need to add another observation I’ve had through the years. Playing golf in Scotland, the home of golf, is different than playing golf in America. In America golf courses have been designed, built and manicured for the purpose of playing the game of golf. In Scotland, the old courses grew from natural conditions. They were usually on ground that was useless for any other purpose and developed into locations where people play the game of golf. Because of this difference, Scottish golfers seem to have a different (and I think healthier) attitude about the game.

To the American golfer, if I stand on the tee, execute a very nice swing, send the ball flying down the fairway, I expect to be rewarded by finding the ball in a good place on a manicured fairway, perfectly situated for the next shot. But Scottish fairways are different. After that “perfect” drive I may find my ball in a deep hidden bunker right in the middle of the fairway. Or, because of all the natural moguls in the fairway, I may find that my ball landed in the middle of the fairway but hit one of the moguls and bounded into the gorse of the rough.

Now to the American mind, That’s Not Fair! “I hit a good drive, I did everything right, I should be rewarded with a good result!” The Scottish golfer would say “Why are you complaining? This is golf (life). Find the ball and do your best to hit it again.”

In life, and especially corporate life, we can do everything right and still experience less than desirable results. But the best leaders and performers live by that original quote “Accept what cannot be altered and keep on doing one’s resolute best whether the prospect be bleak or rosy.”

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