Candor

In a former life I was in a rock band. It's not as glamorous as you may think. You load in your gear around 7pm (maybe you get a sound check at 8) and then you sit at the bar until your band finally takes the stage at midnight. After the show, you wait until the bar clears out to load the gear back into the van. During one of these long nights I offered the lead singer of a well-known band a shot. After we downed the licorice tasting liquid crack he looked at me and said, "Thanks for the shot, but I don't like your band". Then he walked away.

I was profoundly entertained! I appreciated the man's ability to cut through the BS. Sure...he'd take me up on my offer for free liquor, but he wasn't gonna spend the night on a stool with a kid with which he had no common interests. He also wanted to make it clear that as an established professional he thought my band had a different audience.

Remembering this interaction conjured up 2 distinct questions:
1. How much time do we waste being polite?
2. Are we entertaining the right audience?

Cut To The Chase
There is a film about a man who discovers he is going to die and loses his ability to engage in small talk. He tells those he loves as much and those he dislikes why. How much time do we waste being polite? Is that girl you are with the woman of your dreams? Are your friends people you genuinely identify with? Is that customer you are chasing worth catching?

Wouldn't it be nice if we could cut the crap and say what we really mean? Wouldn't it be great if we could walk up and kiss the girl in HR or tell the CFO he is being an asshole?

Not likely...but hope is not lost! 

Controlling Your Destiny
While we cannot predict the future, we can choose who we wish to spend time with.

You can sit down with an employee and alert him of his bullying nature. You can tell that girl that you love her. You can quit your job. You can tell a customer that their behavior is less than professional.

What have you got to lose?

We often fear the unknown. The only certainty is that if we ignore what we fear we will never know what could have been.

What are you hiding from?

Do you have the job you have because it's manageable? That's no way to live!

Ask yourself a simple question:
Can I do more here than I can anywhere else?

If you have the tools to succeed, you like the people around you, and you trust the organization; then the answer to the question above is: Yes!

...then its on you!

Don't waste your time complaining about a problem, solve it! Don't wait until your life is over to try new things. Don't give your power away because you are afraid of how great you might be.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave