“Legacy” requires action !

 

 

With a blog titled “Find Your Legacy,” it’s not difficult to uncover the plot of my story.  For the past 16 years, 275+ essays, and over 180k pageviews I have been focused on this idea from many angles.  Literally 20 years ago, in the spring of 2005, I published a “little book” with this title as a leadership “training tool” when I was an executive at The Coca- Cola Company.  I have been thinking about, speaking about, and writing about “Legacy” for decades now and I keep learning new lessons on the topic and a call I received last week shed new light on that exact issue. To maintain confidentiality, I will use “L” rather than the actual name of the caller.

 

Early last week, my cell rang and out of the blue I saw that “L” was calling.  “L” is an executive at Bolthouse Farms whom I have known for many years and whom I worked closely with when we bought the company back from Campbell’s in 2019.  I literally hadn’t heard from her since my retirement party in Bakersfield, late January 2024, and I wondered if everything was ok.  Quickly “L” assured me that all was well with her, her family and her professional life and that she was calling just to say “thanks,” and candidly I hadn’t a clue at that second what I should say “your welcome” for!!  She reminded me that back in 2021/2022 she met with me several times to work on an area of her development plan that she struggled with … she hated speaking in public.   I remembered us working on a number of her presentations, role playing in different settings and different group/audience sizes and I remember her making good progress in our work sessions.  She shared on the call last week that she had taken those early “lessons” and kept working on this area, and that just recently she had become the head/chair/president of the “toastmasters chapter” at the company and that she wanted to share that news and say thanks.  I was floored, humbled and so proud of “L”, now head of the “toastmasters chapter” … and starting from those humble “lessons” behind the admin building at Bolthouse Farms.

 

I was so touched by her call, so proud of her and wished her the very very best as we hung up the call last week.  Clearly a moment of “Legacy” alive in world today… but a “Legacy” story that had a clear reminder to me personally.  I thought back to those early “lessons” with “L” and remembered that the reason we met outside behind the admin building was that we were in the heat of Covid and beginning the process of trying to vaccinate (on site) the employee population.  It was incredibly stressful, and an incredibly busy time (business results were getting shaky as well) and I remember back to 2021 wondering whether I really had time for the “lessons” with “L.”  I was commuting to Bakersfield from Atlanta on top of it all and I came close to NOT being available for those “lessons,” NOT being generous with my time, NOT taking action to pass along a little “legacy” that might help the next generation of leaders at good old Bolthouse Farms.  I came close to really blowing it… and thankfully I didn’t!!

 

Even after all the years, decades, essays and speeches I am reminded once again that OUR legacy that we leave behind every day is based on our ACTIONS…. not our INTENTIONS!  WE need to continue to work on our actions and find ways to ACT generously as leaders, look for ways to leave our legacy… or maybe just have time for a few “lessons” outside behind the admin building … with our teams today regardless of the pressures/challenges of the moment!

 

 

“Leadership balance”… no small challenge in challenging times!

 

 

As I sit down and write my first essay for 2021, I am sharing an idea that I am facing personally…. the difficult and always changing “balancing act” of being a leader.  It’s interesting (and pretty wonderful) after 35+ years in business to still be learning new lessons, facing new challenges, and growing as a leader.  I took some time over the holidays to reflect on leading a wonderful organization in the face of Covid and the various business challenges we are facing today. A central theme in my self-assessment was how challenging it was to keep a sense of  “balance” in my leadership approach in 2020.  Lets take a few minutes and review a few thoughts on “Leadership balance” across situations/times (not just through the lens of 2020) and think about a few ideas that might be helpful broadly.

 

Steering/ Sailing

 

I will assume for now that all the readers of this essay have driven a car, sailed a boat, or ridden a bike in their lifetimes.  Imagine one of those moments and think about “steering” that car/boat/bike from one point to another.  The reality of any of those situations is that you CAN’T just point to your destination and be done with the task, you are ALWAYS ADJUSTING your direction, a little left or right, port or starboard to account for turns in the road, waves on the lake, wind direction and intensity, etc.  In order to reach one’s destination, you have to always adjust your steering… we are always adjusting our direction to be successful!  It's the same in leading an organization, we need to always adjust our approach, always “correct” a bit if we “over-steer” and always compensate for the changing environment to adjust our steering!

 

 

 

Objective/Subjective

 

I am a person and a leader that always looks for the data/metrics/stats in many situations.  I hold onto the “science” of a situation, whether that relates to Covid vaccination results/ testing protocols, or when I recently bought new tires for our car and dove into the test review metrics, I usually start by digging into the “objective” data of any situation.  This past year has taught me new lessons on the need to “balance” that “objective” orientation with a renewed focus on the “subjective” side of things.  When I casually ask one of my team members on a private call/zoom “how they are doing,” I need to be REALLY READY to fully hear them and their responses.  At times over the past 10 months, I have heard responses to that question that have included family members passing, the inability to be with a sick child in the hospital, personal fear having just received a positive Covid test, and the list goes on…. the responses have been heartfelt, poignant and intense, often superseding any of the business challenges of the moment.  Leaders must find a balance between the objective business metrics of the moment and the subjective emotional state of the team, and me that balancing act has been really hard this past year.  I have no panacea or easy leadership “buzzword” that is easy to follow on this one, but just start by recognizing an old idea that you “manage project and lead people,” and as such, we as leaders need to come to that moment focusing on the well-being of our people first!

 

EQ/IQ

 

Finally I want to comment on the need/requirement of leaders in these challenging times to be strong with their intellect (IQ) AND their emotional intelligence (EQ) to be successful.  Once again it's a balance, but neither side can overwhelm the whole!  A successful leader needs to use all of his/her brainpower, and all of his/her “heartpower,” to handle the challenges we are facing today.  I have found it too easy to focus more on the IQ side, thus being out of “balance” with the EQ needs of the company and the team.  Work with a friend/coach /mentor to help you find the strength and the “balance” to bring both sides of “Intelligence” to bear in your work everyday!

 

As I said at the start, this has been a very challenging year on so many fronts, and a year full of learning and growth certainly for me.  I am working on this idea of “Leadership Balance,” and I hope you can find ways to bring this idea to life in your worlds as we dive into the hope/optimism & challenges of 2021!

 

Postscript: One reflection I wanted to share in this essay is how hard it is to be a “balanced leader” when you aren’t feeling very balanced as an individual.  2020 has been incredibly hard and stressful for the entire world, and I for one didn't FEEL very “balanced” as the year came to an end.  Work was stressful, family dynamics in the context of Covid were challenging, sleep was hard to find, and the list goes on….. all adding to the barriers of being a “balanced leader.” We need to both give ourselves the room to acknowledge those challenges and take actions to find ways to add (not subtract) personal balance in our lives.   

The trail back from Yellow Mountain…. A lesson for a new year with Covid !

 

 

 

The Yellow Mountain Hike in the mountains just north of Highlands N.C. is a real “ass kicker!”  It’s an out and back hike, with the halfway point being a fire tower built by the C.C.C in the 1930’s on the top of Yellow Mountain (not quite 6000 ft. above sea level.)  The hike is about 10 miles in total, with more than 7000 ft. of elevation change (up and down several mountains from the trailhead to the fire tower,) and is at the edge of my physical capability. It typically takes me close to seven hours to accomplish the feat…. and for me it is truly no small feat to achieve!

 

The picture above is of one of the trail signs that are about ½ way out to the fire tower, at a crossing in the trail.  Since it’s an out and back hike, we pass this sign early in the day and then again on our way back, about when we have done ¾ of the hike with only ¼ to go!!  The problem with the sign’s specific location is that its on Goat’s Knob, one of the most challenging parts of the hike and on the return route the sign hits as you are making your way UP Goat’s Knob in a steep and difficult stretch.  Every time I have done this hike, I know that while I am getting close to making it back to the trailhead, with only ¼ of the trail to endure, the path ahead will be steep, challenging and very difficult…. the end was near but challenging miles lay ahead.

 

It’s with that spirit that I see us today, as we are facing the end of 2020 and the “trail” ahead for vaccinations in 2021.  We can see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel… with hopefully millions vaccinated by April or May, and a wide percentage of the population covered by the end of summer.  The hope and excitement is palatable but still difficult “miles” lie ahead in our path.  The next few weeks and months are extremely dangerous and challenging and we are not “out of the woods” by any means, we are merely about at the Yellow Mtn. sign on our way back home.

 

I learned on my second Yellow Mountain hike (the first was successful but pretty messy…. more on that another time) that by taking frequent breaks, having enough water and food to sustain myself, I could make it back feeling winded and tired, but healthy and successful.  In that same spirit, I am looking for ways right now to apply those lessons to our current challenges with Covid.  How can I slow down, use good planning, focus on health and safety protocols and most importantly remember that there are really challenging miles ahead and to ensure to prepare well for those challenges.

 

As much as I desperately want this to be over, and to get back to travelling and seeing family and friends like we did before March 2020, those days aren’t here yet!  We all need to stay patient, vigilant and as careful as we can be… with plenty of water and food for the rest of the proverbial hike, so we can all find our way back from the Fire Tower on Yellow Mountain and back to our homes safely with our families and friends in 2021…. we are at the “sign” on the way back but not finished the hard journey yet!  

Stay safe and healthy over the next few months and we all can find our way to vaccinations in 2021 and a return to more normal times with our families, friends and communities.

 

    

It's very hard this year, but "start with Gratitude"

This is a note I sent out to my team at Bolthouse Farms, and I wanted to share it more broadly....

I just wanted to send out a note before the Thanksgiving holiday this week.  This year is unlike all others for me ( and I think for all of us) as we head toward this day of thanksgiving….. this year has been so hard, so challenging, so painful, and so long, that I for one am having a hard time being very thankful; it’s in that spirit, not in some “hallmark card” moment, but in the midst of all of our challenges and pain that  I share these thoughts and reflections.  

 

Maybe 10-15 years ago I had the chance to see The Dalai Lama live at Canon chapel  on the campus of Emory University.  The setting matters since it was where Jennie and I were married ( by her Father,) where both Bryson and Marie were baptized and where we attended the funerals for both Jennie’s mom and sister… certainly a sacred space for our family!  It was there that the Dalai Lama, with a number of monks, held a “service” of sorts that included all sorts of Tibetan Buddhist rituals and comments from The Dalai Lama.   While I was struck by how “cheery and jovial” he was ( often chuckling/laughing) one comment he shared has stuck with me over the years…. that being to “always start with gratitude.” 

 He encouraged the crowd to 

 

·     “start every day…” 

·     “start every meal…”

·     “start every conversation…”

·     “start every walk…”

·     etc.

o  “with gratitude.”

 

I think back to that moment, so many years ago and find strength and inspiration thinking about this note today.  In the midst of rising covid cases and so many challenges facing our world, I am very thankful for my family, my sweet Jennie and our two wonderful kids, Bryson and Marie.  I am thankful to have the chance to work at Bolthouse Farms, and to work in a business that is trying hard to find ways to get more fruits and vegetables (go carrots!!) on family’s tables, and to work with a team of hardworking “Bolthouse People” that care so much and are so committed to our mission.  I am thankful to be healthy and capable to find ways to try to make tomorrow a bit better than yesterday…. and the list literally could go on for paragraphs….. I am actually thankful for so much!!

 

I wish all of you a very happy, healthy, safe and “grateful” thanksgiving holiday and I do sincerely hope that you can enjoy some well deserved time off this week with your family and friends as safely as possible!

 

"Hope", a dream and a wish!

It is rare for me to reference a dream in one of my posts, but with 200+ essays posted on this blog it was bound to happen. As I have referenced, Jennie and I have two wonderful, bright, generous and beautiful children ... Bryson and Marie. Bryson recently graduated from UCLA ( Go Bruins!!) and Marie is a second year at UCSB ( Go Gauchos!!) The dream I reference today featured Marie and the UCSB campus. In this very vivid dream, I was visiting Marie at school and we were walking up to an overlook to catch the sunset. For those of you who have never been on the University of California, Santa Barbara campus, it is set on the bluffs above the pacific and faces due west and has STUNNING sunsets from a number of spots across the campus. In my dream, we walked to a specific spot to watch the sunset, along with a large crowd of people, all heading to the same vista. As we got to the top of the bluff, Marie and I talked about how incredible it felt to be able to share the moment with a large group of "strangers," and not feel uncomfortable or unsafe because in my dream, the vaccine had been discovered and the world was vaccinated... the fear of covid was a memory! 

It was an incredible sensation to feel the openness, the freedom, the optimism and the communal "beauty," newly freed from the fear and trauma of Covid-19! As I awoke from the dream, the sunset image clearly in my "minds-eye," I was deeply struck by the truth that someday (and hopefully/prayerfully "someday" soon) we WILL confirm a vaccine, we WILL work to have the world broadly vaccinated, and we WILL mix and mingle with others without the fear of today. We WILL have a bright tomorrow, not without its challenges, but without some of our most pressing CURRENT challenges. 

When I reference "Hope" in my title, it is the "hope" of that sunset moment in my dream, the "hope" of a brighter healthier tomorrow, the "hope" of a more peaceful world that we need to find a way to find in the dark days of today. No one knows when the vaccine will be discovered and scientifically validated, or when 7+ billion doses will be manufactured and successfully delivered to all citizens across the globe, but we do know that those days will come!

 In closing, I "wish" for all of you a chance to find your own UCSB "sunset moment!" I "wish" for all of you to have a chance to dream/see the future "post-covid" and imagine just a few of the blessing and beautiful gifts that future will offer to all of us!

Building "Community" Together

Building “Community” Together It was almost 20 years ago that I first got involved in the Atlanta Community Food Bank (ACFB) as a board member. I had volunteered with the organization before that time, and had gathered canned goods as part of food drives at work and at church, but in 2002 I was asked to join the board for the first time. ( I recently finished serving my second 6-year term on the board, and continue to be a big fan and supporter!) Back in 2002, I was asked to be part of a marketing committee by Bill Bolling, founder and long running Executive Director of the ACFB. Bill and I continue to work together today, as he has now retired from the Food Bank and I work with him as a board member of The Food Well Alliance, a non-profit focused on strengthening the local food system in metro Atlanta by supporting urban farmers, community gardens, farmers markets and other organizations involved in the local food movement. If interested, see more at www.foodwellalliance.org.

Back to the marketing committee! At that time, the ACFB was expanding its footprint and was involved in numerous side projects/initiatives and the marketing committee was asked to work on how to capture all the projects under a common “food bank umbrella” and develop a re-branding/re-naming approach that might help all of the initiatives make more sense to the supporters of the food bank. We dove into the project, worked with a local agency, and came up with a number of branding/naming/graphic ideas that would simplify the communication challenges and one of the recommendations that we came forward with was to drop the word “Community” from the organization’s name as a way to streamline/simplify things. I still remember the immediate and dramatic reaction from Bill Bolling when we showed him our ideas, with him exclaiming that the word “Community” was the ONLY word that could NEVER be dropped….. that we were at the food bank, using food as a tool to help our community…. especially the members of the community most in need….. that the food was not the objective, a stronger healthier community was the objective…. Community was the whole thing!

Community: noun,
• a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.
o "the scientific community"
• a group of people living together in one place, especially one practicing common ownership.
o "a community of nuns"
• a particular area or place considered together with its inhabitants.
o "a rural community"

While the marketing committee project didn't go too far , the lesson from that review has stayed with me for decades and has been growing on my mind over the past few months with the challenges and struggles facing so many of us across so many communities. Consider the challenges the entire world is facing from the Covid crisis, the struggle for racial justice and equality, the growing pervasive issues from accelerating climate change, the nightmare of gun violence in our country, and the list goes on! WE are facing an incredible set of challenges across the board and before we try to dive in and “fix” one of them we have to come back to the fundamental truth that WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER! We are part of one large COMMUNITY!

If we have learned anything in 2020 it is that our actions affect those around us and vice versa…. Whether it is someone not wearing a mask in a grocery store ( not good!) or one town/country spewing toxic emissions into the air and water that flows downstream to the neighboring town/country, we don't live in small isolated units…. we live in a world incredibly interconnected and what we do (or don't do) doesn’t just affect ourselves, it ALWAYS affects each other! Maybe its overly simplistic, but I am thinking back to Bill Bolling’s admonition a lot these days ( “Community: is the indispensible word!) and am thinking about how we can take action and work on “Building Community Together.”

Where ever you are, urban or rural and regardless of country (or political party) we can all chip in and find ways to help support and strengthen our communities broadly. Partly driven by the covid crisis, our food banks have never faced a time of greater need, our local support organizations have never been more stretched, look around you and find ways that you can help/support/strengthen ‘community” wherever you live….. the need is great and as a “community” we can accomplish great and needed things for OUR COMMUNITY, but only if we act as a “community!”

Through the lens of Gratitude

It seems difficult to think about the idea of looking at our world and our lives through a "lens of gratitude," but that challenge is what I want to focus on today. Surrounded by a still growing global pandemic, expanding civil unrest over systemic racial injustice, and mounting global geopolitical pressures and strife, it almost feels misplaced to even suggest that "gratitude" could or possibly SHOULD be the filter/screen or "lens" for our complicated world today.

Recently our son had a terrible accident and had to have emergency surgery.  I won't go into any details here, but he is recovering well and getting stronger everyday.  His accident caused a significant amount of internal bleeding, and his surgeon shared how lucky he was to have gotten to the hospital as quickly as he did (via a 911 ambulance call),  since his internal bleeding was so severe.  I was shocked, and terrified about our son's "close call" and was so deeply appreciative that he had come through surgery so well and was going to have a full recovery.  I was deeply grateful, full stop!

That realization of deep gratitude pushed me to think about gratitude more deeply, and how hard it seems to have as a constant filter for life, and how especially hard it seems to apply today!  With all the pain/loss/tragedy in our world in the summer of 2020, "gratitude" does not seem like the first place to start in approaching our world.  As a counterpoint, I want to suggest in this essay that we might all benefit if we try to apply our "gratitude glasses" to the challenges we all face today across our landscape.

Gratitude: noun; the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.


A few quotes from a breadth of voices help amplify the definition above:

Marcus Tullius Cicero

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”

Maya Angelou 

“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”

Epicurus

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”

Rumi

“Wear gratitude like a cloak, and it will feed every corner of your life.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life 
becomes rich.”

Mother Teresa
"The best way to show gratitude is to accept everything, even my problems, with joy.

Now that we have refreshed ourselves on the core definition of "gratitude," and have been nudged by a number of voices from across the centuries, lets think about how to apply this seemly simple idea to our lives this summer:

• "Leading" through a lens of gratitude:
• Many business leaders find it tempting to start conversations or business reviews with a summary of what has NOT gone well, or a discussion of the gaps or mis-steps of the organization.  Try starting with the greatest successes of the year, the biggest wins, the loudest moments .... THE GRATITUDE LIST ...what are we grateful for as we begin this conversation??  there will be plenty of time to review the negatives.... lets ALWAYS start with the positives (even after a bad quarter/year!)
• 
  
• "Parenting" through a lens of gratitude: 
• Like many families, we have had an experience over the past few months "during Covid" where we have had a lot of time with our college aged kids, much more than normal!  Rather than myopically focus on the clothes on the floor, or the forgotten coffee cups left around the house, I am working on realizing that this moment will actually be over MUCH TO SOON and I will miss having this "regular time" with Marie and Bryson kicking around the house... a time that might never be replicated!  
• 
  
• "Marriage" through a lens of gratitude:
• This coming week, Jennie and I celebrate our 33rd anniversary.  After three + decades of marriage, a kind and wonderful life partner, two smart beautiful healthy kids, a lovely home, and the list goes on ...  there are tons to be appreciative of and grateful for and I am thinking this year about how to centered on those truths!

While I won't "fill in" the following few thought starters, this idea continues on in the same direction.... take the items of our current day-to-day life and work to "look" at them through the "lens of gratitude!"

"Volunteering " through a lens of gratitude: 

"Friendship" through a lens of gratitude:

"Politics" through a lens of gratitude: 

We all have a lot to be grateful for, lets not forget it as we lead our busy lives!  Lets turn these attitudes into actions and SHOW our appreciation to those who touch our lives.... through the "lens of gratitude!"

Where to find hope today.....

It is with an incredibly sad and full heart that I write this essay today.  Our country and our communities are broken and in need of a tremendous amount of work and reconciliation.  In communities large and small, in the north and south, in the east and west, so many are wondering today where is the hope for tomorrow and what should they as individuals think/feel & do today??

  I share these same feelings and struggle today to find a "guiding star" to help remind me of the path forward.  Its is in that spirit that I share two quotes that have helped me today and I hope they can both be helpful to you.

 The first is a from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech from December of 1964... a message from almost fifty six years ago that sadly rings true today:

"I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the "isness" of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal "oughtness" that forever confronts him. I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsom and jetsom in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality."

The second is from a message that President Obama posted today.

"Let's not excuse violence, or rationalize it, or participate in it. If we want our criminal justice system, and American society at large, to operate on a higher ethical code, then we have to model that code ourselves," Obama wrote in an essay on Medium.

He added, "The bottom line is this: if we want to bring about real change, then the choice isn't between protest and politics. We have to do both. We have to mobilize to raise awareness, and we have to organize and cast our ballots to make sure that we elect candidates who will act on reform."

These two quotes give me a sightline on the need to turn our feelings and thoughts into actions in our communities.  I hope that you can find a path today, for you, your families and your communities to stay focused on the "oughtness" for all of humanity.  Stand up for what is right, stand up with moral courage and stand against racist injustice in our country;  find ways that we can all work to "model" a higher ethical code as a nation.

It has been a beautiful spring ...

It seems strange and uncomfortable to write that headline.... "It has been a beautiful spring..."  The tone feels somehow "off" as we are surrounded by a world fighting a virus with no known cure. The headlines this morning literally are bombarding us all with messages of "red states escalating the push to open", and "white house officials point the finger at the CDC..." among a plethora of news stories focused on the concern and seriousness of the disease that we are all facing.  With that said, and deeply internalized, last Sunday afternoon I was a bit floored when the words of this essay's title came out of my mouth as I was sitting by myself in our backyard.

The truth of the matter is that in the midst of this virus induced terror, it actually HAS been a beautiful spring in Atlanta.  The weather has been temperate so far, with lovely spring rains helping along the blooming of incredible spring flowers across the garden.  I have included a few photos to bring this to life, not highlighting a specific plant or flower, but just to share the casual beauty that actually IS blossoming right now in our back garden.

On top of the incredible weather and flowers, it has been ( so far!!) an incredible spring for my heirloom tomato plants!  I raise two tomato varieties that have been passed down in my family, one a old orange tomato variety that my grandmother raised for many decades before her passing in the late 90's and another that my childhood friend Dave Carfang's family has raised since the early 70's.  They are flourishing with the sunny days, cool nights, and steady moderate rainfall this year and have already started to put off a large quantity of blooms that is an early record for me!

While "off tone," and possibly "off message" to comment on this dynamic, I actually find it encouraging and "needed" (at least for me) to find a "little ray of sunshine in the midst of all the darkness.  I find these moments so helpful; where I can step out of the tempo of the work of the day, or the worries about the virus, our society, my family and those dear that I love and take a quiet breath and take in the beauty that surrounds us.

A month or so ago, I was leading a department wide zoom "call" at work,  and shared a similar story that seemed to ring home to number of others.  It was early April, the fear of Covid-19 and the "quarantine activities" we as a family and as a nation were taking to "flatten the curve" were in full gear.  Work challenges were very intense, and I had decided to take a quick walk,( to get in some steps as my friend Cathy would say) and as I went down the block I was actually startled by a power bed filled with huge blossoming irises.  It was incredible, the blues/whites and purples all in full bloom and I literally stopped for moment on the sidewalk and just took in the beauty.  as I shared that story to my team, I encouraged all of them to take a moment to get away from their screens, to take a walk or "get some air" and to pay attention to flowers or trees that they might find in their neighborhoods.... hoping that they might have a moment of beauty amidst the challenges like I did!

That dynamic is the same that I comment on today.... we will never forget the spring of 2020 with so much tragedy and so many deaths.... but that will not be the only definition of this spring!  Equally true will be the beauty of the irises, the snapdragons and the pansies and maybe, just maybe, the best tomato crop ever!

The foundation for a "steadfast " leader

It was less than four weeks ago, 3/16/20,  that I posted my last essay, "“Calm, Steady, & Clear-minded”…. A leadership model for challenging times."  The Covid Pandemic had reared its ugly head across the globe and had spread broadly across North America.  I was still working from my office in Bakersfield, but was realizing that California was about to institute a state-wide "stay-in-place" order and that I needed to get home to my family in Atlanta.  It is incredible to think that those moments of working on flight options to leave California to come back home were only three weeks ago.... the world has dramatically changed and the challenges we all are facing continue to grow.  While I received a number of positive comments about the last blog essay, I want/need to amplify on it today.

The Leadership challenges that so many are facing today are daunting.  What are the next set of requirements organizationally that we will need to deploy next week?  How can we prioritize the health and safety of our employees AND continue basic business operations to sustain the business and the job security of those employees? How to mobilize, direct and engage a newly virtual professional staff very used to working in small groups in informal office settings???  I won't try to speak for others, but the list continues to grow for me every day!

It was in the midst of those challenges and stressors that I took a moment to think about that past essay and took a moment to re-read it and a few other recent entries.  In late December I posted an essay right before Christmas that talked about the idea of being "Steadfast" is the face of challenges.  While I am certain that I felt challenged at that moment late in 2019, it pales in comparison to how I,  and millions of others are feeling today.  With that reality firmly placed, it is interesting to dig into the need for leaders to be calm, steady, clear-minded and steadfast as they face incredible issues and challenges in their day to day work.  These four ideas run across my recent writings and are four ideas that I am working hard to bring to life right now!  In that spirit I did some digging this past week, some "etymology" ( the study of words) to dig out some insight behind these simple concept... what is the foundation of a "steadfast" leader??

Digging into the latin derivation for the key word "steadfast," it is interesting to NOT find one single word as the historic reference point but instead three words....

"Steadfast": adjective

---

stabilis

firm, stable, steadfast, steady, stationary, lasting

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firmus

firm, solid, strong, steadfast, steady, reliable

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constans

constant, firm, steadfast, steady, unchanging, consistent

"Stabilis" is the root for our english word of "stable", "firmus" the root for our english word "firm," and "constans" the root for our english word "constant."  It made sense to me that in order to be truly a "steadfast" leader, you had to do more than just one thing!  You needed to be stable, firm and constant all at the same time.

While the idea of trying hard to work on three ideas at once is certainly a challenge, it did make sense that the foundation for would need to be varied, interconnected and made up of various elements.  Like many foundations in architecture, you need multiple elements working with and against each other to form a solid base.  Being "constant"/ unchanging, can at times seem to work with and against the ideas of being "stable"/ stationary and "firm"/ steady.  Like many things for leaders, there is never a simple answer or formula,  but there are ideas/concepts that will help all of us.  During these exceedingly challenging times, I encourage all of you to be your "steadfast" best!  Remind yourselves of these three foundational ideas and I think it will help you and your organizations survive and hopefully thrive during this incredibly difficult time.

“Calm, Steady, & Clear-minded”…. A leadership model for challenging times

Here we are in mid-march, 2020 and the entire globe is facing enormous challenges and unknown threats from the spreading Covid-19 virus.  Governments, businesses, communities, families and individuals are struggling to come to grips with this crisis, and growth of confirmed cases and tragic deaths are growing dramatically.  In this context we are watching some political leaders struggle to stay focused on the facts, looking to edit/spin the headlines for political gain, while others are embracing the data of the situation, looking to scientific experts on the topic and are making tough, at times unpopular,  but important and required decisions to slow the spread of the virus in our communities without a single thought of political gain.  This essay IS NOT a message of political critique, but one of looking for leadership models in trying moments; and essay focused on finding a few themes that I am trying to apply myself in the leadership challenges that our company is facing today . Like so many other businesses, Bolthouse Farms is working its way through this crisis and we are trying our best to lead well in times of challenge and accelerating change.  While I know we aren’t getting it all right, I know that the leadership team is working hard to lead the company well, making good decisions quickly and decisively as issues arise.  While doing so, we are trying to remind ourselves to stay “calm, steady, & clear-minded” in the face of amazing challenges.

These three words are a kind of “mantra” for me these days, literally repeating them over in my mind whenever the tension mounts, knowing that for me to be the best leader I can be for this wonderful company, I need to keep these ideas front and center at all times.  I am sure that these three ideas could be helpful to you as well, and hopefully a quick refresher will help you stay focused on the challenges you are facing in your worlds today:

Calm: adj., not showing or feeling nervousness, anger, or other strong emotions.

Steady: adj., regular, even, and continuous in development, frequency, or intensity.

Clear-minded: adj., sensible and think clearly, especially in difficult situations.

Take a moment and reflect on each of these ideas, and it seems so simple.  Each idea makes sense and each adjective would be helpful in this crazy moment.  Then, imagine the idea that we as leaders need to work hard to do all three, at the same time, all the time!  These three simple concepts become superhuman aspirations…. and while certainly a challenge, I do believe it’s what our communities, our families and our businesses need now more than ever.  Here are  a couple of suggestions that I find helpful in my pursuit of “calm, steady, & clear-minded,” and maybe they will be helpful to you:

Ø Get plenty of sleep:  sacrificing sleep, and especially doing it over a few days (or a few weeks) is a recipe for disaster in this pursuit.  Work hard on your sleep patterns and remember that your sleep will not only help with the principles above, it’s also key to a healthy immune system personally.

Ø Slow-down: so much is happening so fast, we need to TRY to slow it down, take a few deep breaths, step outside to gain your composure and stay focused on the challenges and approach each issue and decision as focused and present as possible.

Ø “Aunt Lorraine’s Law”:  For those of you historic readers of my blog, you will have seen me reference a phrase of advice from my dear Aunt Lorraine from when I was a child.  She often said, “William, you can eat anything, if you take SMALL BITES, AND CHEW THOROUGHLY!” While she was probably chastising me at that moment to eat my broccoli, those famous words have never been more powerful or appropriate!

Take your time and reflect on these ideas, and as I said above NOT from a political angle but from a view of how we all can be great leaders in this moment…. leaders that can model the ability to stay “calm, steady and clear-minded” in the face of dynamic challenges!