We Must Agree

It’s been a while since I did a Freedom Philosophy and two days after yet another tragic school massacre any words of motivation about the credit union, our services or building relationships, seem unimportant and pale in comparison to the overwhelming need to focus on much larger issues. Sadder still, as I sat down to compose this, I came across a philosophy I started to write, but did not send, back in November 2017. It started like this:

I’m tired of it. I can’t take it anymore. I’m fed up with hearing about people running over people with cars; shooting inside and outside schools, churches, nightclubs or concerts; homemade bombs on subway trains; the constant killing and blatant disregard for life perpetrated by and on, every age, race, religion, sex; everyone and anyone that walks the earth without discrimination. How did we get here?

I never completed it because when I got to that question I realized I couldn’t answer it. Worse yet, if I tried, I could potentially outrage or alienate people Freedom depends on for its success. What does that say? As a person I should be able to express opinions, express contempt for a system, society or government that fails to protect its people. As CEO, however, I must be careful about what I say and concerned with how they can positively or negatively influence. The impact of any stance I take, or comments I make, can be far reaching in terms of the ability of the credit union to serve or even survive. Boycotts, loss of business, driving a philosophical wedge between the company and community, can spell catastrophe. Is there common ground?

Yes. We can all agree that the taking of innocent lives in such ways as we have become accustomed to must end. Regardless of the why, ideologies, rights, philosophies, underlying issues and so on, we can all agree something has gone terribly wrong. More importantly, we can all, in our own way, agree to stand up, be counted, and find answers; not only to the question, “How did we get here?”, but also, “What can we do?” As we do, we can also agree, at the very least, that we must try to make the world a better place by respecting one another, caring for one another and realizing that we actually have the power to make a difference with every word, every action or inaction, every day.

Mike

Nothing is certain (maybe)

They say nothing is certain; there are no sure things. The expectation then is that you can’t count on anything. This can be good or bad, but what people lose sight of is that it’s not about that expectation; it’s how you react when expectations are, or are not, met.

At Freedom, we do our best to set the right budget, hire the right people, approve the good loan, cash the safe check, but as the Scottish Poet Robert Burns wrote, “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley” (the best laid plans often go wrong). Foresight, planning, the best of intentions can all work perfectly or, at times, be in vain and not reap the intended benefit. However, it’s these little hiccups that can also bring out the best in us.

When things don’t go as planned we must have the ability to regroup; to objectively listen to other points of view, heed advice and, as necessary, change opinions, shift priorities or start over. Obviously no one likes to get it wrong, but that does present an opportunity. That’s the key. It’s not about making a mistake, it’s about learning from it and not repeating it.

Monitoring products and processes, evaluating performance, listening to valid feedback isn’t about finding fault. Those things let us build on the positives and isolate the negatives in hopes of becoming better. We will all have occasion to be a mentor and a student, to lead and to follow. We count on each other every day. It is, therefore, the mindset of the individual, the willingness to focus on the good, the desire to improve and motivation to serve others that will drive the ability to switch between such roles and successfully adapt to a changing world. That’s certain.

“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” — Charles Swindoll

A Dream Within A Dream

Did you ever have one of those dreams that screws up your mood and has the potential to ruin your whole day? Not a scary dream; those are easy because you wake up and see there is no clown at the foot of your bed holding a chainsaw and an artichoke. You get scared, realize you’re safe and move on. Sure your heart is pounding, but it’s over. No, I mean the ones where you wake up heart broken, feeling like you got punched in the gut and wishing you could get back into the dream because it was so much better than reality. Those are tougher to shake off because at the core they are more real; conjured by an experience, a thought, something that triggers a memory or unfulfilled desire. There is a part of you that exits in that dream and in real life making the separation of the two more difficult and the options for dealing with it more challenging. When something upsets you, real or imagined, it can be difficult to get past right away until you can isolate the cause and find the right way to respond.

In life, in business, we don’t always have the luxury of reacting the way we want when something troubles us. We have to temper our feelings, maybe even push them aside and measure our response as we try to understand the why so we can cope, move on and accomplish our objectives. I choose to believe most people’s intentions are good and their goal isn’t to upset, but just like we don’t go to bed expecting to have a dream that makes us feel bad, that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. We can be unpredictable and unaware sometimes of how our actions or words are perceived. We insinuate or say things that fail to properly clarify our intent and can have multiple interpretations. This can be a result of poor communication skills or an overzealous nature to accomplish a goal. There may be times when an individual need becomes the priority clouding the judgment and closing the ears to different perspectives and needs. Likewise, problems can be the result of our own preconceived ideas or a past experience that we, or someone we know, had. The important thing is to simply recognize these possibilities and realize that each conversation, contact, communication, is a chance to build, or rebuild, relationships and create an environment of mutual respect.

So, before we send an email, have a conversation, or post on social media, we need to consider our intent, ultimate objective and how the message will be received. A daunting task I know, but let me put it into context. When I put together an article like this I start days in advance with an idea. I start writing, trying to convey a thought, but all the way up until I hit “send” I’m editing, changing, rewording, etc. in hopes that the real meaning comes across and not something unintended. I try to craft something impactful, but broad enough to show that the ideas expressed apply to us all from time to time. It may not always work, but as long as the effort is there, I am content. I’m not saying it should take days to send someone an email or to write out a script before making a call. All I’m saying is be cognizant about the impact your words and their delivery can have. Make sure the why is clear and that all aspects, especially when you’re part of a group with varying backgrounds, are considered with equal weight. This doesn’t mean every decision reached or action taken will be loved by all, but if the communication is clear, if other points of view are considered and if the why is explained, we reduce the potential negativity that can otherwise result and hold us back from reaching our potential.

Mike