Life is Short

Life is short - I've just been reminded, twice!

Two weeks ago my husband's younger brother, Bruce, died suddenly.  He was 56 years old.  We were not only in shock, but also completely unprepared for this life event.  The medical officials attributed death to a heart attack, but nothing was done to verify this was really the cause.  

Two weeks later, an old friend from high school, Chuck Richardson succumbed to ALS, an awful disease that he'd been fighting for a short while.  He was 57 years old.  I learned he was sick in May when he called and invited me to have dinner and catch-up.  He was reaching out to people who made good impacts on him, to talk while he could and to let them know how he felt about them.  I'm humbled to be included in that group of special people.

Benjamin Franklin said, "The only things certain in life are death and taxes." 

But, even if death is a certainty, how much can we really be prepared when it comes?

In my brother-in-law's case there was no warning, in fact he'd been working to improve his health and lifestyle over the summer.  Luckily, he left a will stating his wishes.  And, he was single without children.  But, this has been extremely hard on his elderly parents -- you never expect your child to go before you do!

Chuck did make time to touch base with those who were important to him.  He told me he'd come to peace with his illness and hoped his period of suffering would be short, which it turned out to be.  He also was single without children.  I mention this because early death is worse when children and dependents are involved.

I realize that I have nothing ready to help my family should I suddenly keel over.  While this fact is smacking me in the face, I've got to take care of my affairs.  Hopefully, I have plenty of time left on this Earth.  But, you never know.

Thanks to Bruce and Chuck for years of friendship and love.  You both are and will continue to be missed!  I intend to use your untimely deaths as a wake-up call and as the spark to ignite a fire under my butt and get my will and other important arrangements in order.  At least some good will have come from all this!

Consummate Professional

This week I received a great compliment from a coworker - she called me the "Consummate Professional."

Pondering this, I decided I needed to look up what this actually meant, not wanting to miss anything important.  I wasn't surprised by what I found out (using online searches), but it did get me thinking.

When I first started working at age 16 in a retail store, I was immediately taught by my manager that the customer came first.  We were not allowed to be idol, but were expected to always be looking to serve someone or otherwise be engaged in keeping the store presentable and fully stocked.  Under her tutor-ledge,   I learned what it took to be successful.  And, those first lessons are still alive and well within me.  (Thanks, Eddie!)

Throughout my professional career, I made sure I followed-through on commitments, engaged others with respect and always sought to help out where I could to ensure our team was successful.

Of course, not everyone had this excellent early training.  Frequently, I found myself going that "extra mile" to do something another person left undone.  Sometimes it was due to their inability or lack of training and experience and I was happy to help out, even taking time to show them how it was done.  And, there have been plenty of others who have helped me similarly along the way.

But, then there are the people who don't seem to care.  I am still dazed and confused by that attitude.  If you spend your precious time and energy at work, why not make the best of being there.  Even more confounding are those who work hard at doing nothing!  They spend many hours covering their tracks, blaming other people, and creating a negative atmosphere around themselves in hopes of deferring management confrontations.  Unfortunately, they usually get away with this behavior.

While a federal executive, I put time and energy into working with my unproductive employees to 1) try to understand their triggers and 2) attempt to influence them by showing them how their behavior created more work for their teammates.  No surprise -- they didn't care!  In the end, I concluded this is a learned behavior that over time becomes habit.  The key is to not let new employees begin down this road!  Prevention is the only answer I could find.

Many managers avoid confrontation and so do co-workers.  I've learned it is much less stressful to combat poor performance and negative attitudes when they first appear, than to deal with it later.  Also, newly hired staff is easier to deal with than are veteran workers who have seniority, perhaps union representation, and a well-built support structure of similarly-minded cohorts.

In my present situation, I have no direct reports, which is a blessing as much as a hindrance.  I depend upon myself to get things done.  I'm pleased that my coworkers see me as being supportive, dependable, and talented!

The working world would be a much better place if everyone aspired to be the consummate professional!  A working systems of rewards and penalties is the only means to that end.