Angel Biscuits

It was a great surprise that my sweet wife had planned for me a few weeks ago. I was told to make it home early afternoon on a recent Friday so we could head out of town on a “getaway” trip. Following direction well, I arrived home on schedule and we drove up into the Smoky Mountains, three or so hours north of Atlanta, to spend the weekend at a wonderfully secluded inn. Jennie and I have been married now more than twenty four years and it’s still such a treat for us to have some time away just for us.

Saturday morning dawned beautiful and cool at the inn and after a delicious breakfast, a plan started to emerge for a morning adventure. As a boy my family and I had spent a few summer vacations at a lodge named Tapoco deep in the smokies. It was a pretty rustic sight, with small cabins, a central dining room, the coldest swimming pool (literally fed by the mountain stream) , shuffle board, etc. The “resort” was owned by my father’s employer, ALCOA, and being an employee allowed him access and discounts for our use as a family. Sitting after breakfast a few weeks ago I got the wild idea to see just how close we were to Tapoco. Using my trusty IPAD, I realized that we were only thirty eight miles away … the morning’s adventure was set!

With box lunches in hand, we headed straight into the mountains on one of the windiest roads I ever experienced. The journey took was gorgeous, dramatic vistas of mountains and lakes, and after almost an hour and a half, we came upon the Tapoco Lodge. Many times in life we go back to try to retrace the paths and memories of our youth, often to great disappointment. Thankfully this trip was the exact opposite. The resort was under new management, the old lodge and the dining room had been refurbished beautifully. The cabins were under renovation and while the pool was closed, the stream still ran down that little valley, still as cold as I remember. It’s important to note that while I am not certain of the dates, I think my last visit to Tapoco was as a boy in the late sixties or early seventies.

I found it very emotionally powerful to walk the grounds, remember the sights and sound of the place now four decades removed. As I walked into the dining room I was blown away not just because it looked the same, it actually smelled the same! That smell brought back instant memories of the delicious meals we shared at long communal tables in this dining room; none stronger than the memory of the delicious biscuits that I enjoyed in this room over forty years ago. A quiet woman’s voice interrupted my “biscuit memories” and asked if I needed any help. Slightly startled, I introduce myself and shared that I had visited Tapoco as a boy and I was blown away by how great it looked. She introduced herself as Ann and shared that she worked at the resort now, and had actually worked there as a teenager back in late sixties. Unbelievable! Here was a woman I had just met whom could have worked in this same dining room when my family and I ate our meals here forty plus years ago. Small world??? I was standing at one end of the dining room talking to Ann and we started to share our memories of our favorite meals for “the old days.” She loved the county ham and the fried chicken, both delicious, but my favorite was the clearly the biscuits. As we compared notes she pointed just over my shoulder and said that it was funny that we were having this conversation “in front of the old recipe box.” I turned and saw the small green “treasure chest” of a recipe box (pictured above.) Unbelievable, there it was, maybe two feet away! Almost shaking, I asked her if it was ok for me to “touch” the box and she said “sure, let’s get it down!” I pulled out the first recipe card and it was “Congealed Beet Salad”, not the top of my memory parade. I glanced at the second recipe and there it was, the jackpot, “Angel Biscuits!” I couldn’t believe it, yellowed, creased, spotted by grease, was the small recipe card bearing the treasure map. I didn’t say anything, eyes filling with tears, when Ann asked if I wanted a copy, “oh my gosh yes” I sputtered and she headed to the resorts’ office.

Angel Biscuits

I share this story and the recipe above as just another reminder of the preciousness of life. Here was an amazing experience that was absolutely unplanned just hours before, that has now become a treasured moment. We always need to find the ability, the time, and the emotional space to be “open” to experiences in our life; whether they are new cultures, new environments or the “Angel Biscuits” from the Tapoco Lodge!

Learn to do two things at once

A number of years ago, I was working for a seasoned leader at Coca-Cola, and a group of us young, relatively inexperienced, managers were all trying to perform well and impress the “big boss.” It was in the context of a staff meeting, one day, that the pressure of the business started to get the best of all of us. We were driving results, expanding the business into new customers and markets, while at the same time working to re-engineer our entire “go to market” approach. It felt to all of us that we were trying to do too much at once, that old adage of” fixing the engines while flying the plane“just didn’t feel very good. In a moment of exasperation, one of my peers (though we all were feeling the same pressure), blurted out “Enough is enough - if we can do only ONE thing, what is that ONE thing that you want us to do???” Without pausing for a breath, our boss calmly commented, “Well, if you can only do ONE thing, then learn to do TWO things at once.”

It almost seemed to not make sense –the ONE thing to do was to learn to do TWO things at once? We all sat there silent and a bit dumbfounded, and instead of blowing up at all of us, our boss shared a few well-chosen kernels of wisdom. First and foremost, he felt that business wasn’t going to get easier and less complex, if anything it was trending to do the opposite. The demands, challenges AND opportunities would certainly multiply, not decline over the years to come. (Indeed, truer words had never been said!) Secondly, now this was before Blackberries/Smartphones/PDAs, he felt that technology was not only accelerating the business around us, but it was also accelerating HOW we did business at that moment. So, the tempo of the work and the amount of communications (voice mails and emails at that time and well before texts, blogs, tweets, facebook, linkedin, etc.) were increasing rapidly. Finally, he shared that the expectations of performance were not only rising every year, driven by the ever increasing demands of a large publically traded company, but the annual “increase of expectations” (think slope of a curve) was steepening. What was a great performance last year would probably be viewed as only acceptable in the next year. To say the least, we were all a bit freaked out at the time, but I remember to this day that moment of epiphany, realizing that accelerating performance and increasing capabilities were both required activities at all times!

I share this story today, because once again, I am faced with this same type of situation. In a very busy work environment, where we are accelerating the business, I am pushing myself and others to not only be focused on driving results of the week, month or quarter, but to be passionate about stepping back to work on the necessary capabilities to improve those results in the future. Capabilities don’t get built on their own! You have to work on it just the same way that you had to work at learning Micro Economics, Calculus, Cost Accounting, or any tough subject from your past.

This year, I have found it helpful to formalize the effort by scheduling a capabilities work session, forcing myself to take my mind off the short term business challenges and to work on the capability needs of our future. My encouragement to you is to use whatever approach works, but insure that you are not tempted to think that focusing on only ONE thing at a time is a good idea. Since that staff meeting more than fifteen years ago, the business world is not simpler, slower, less complicated, less challenging, nor less filled with opportunities. We need to be great at doing two things at once, so we can start working on doing THREE at once!

Optimism… a priority for leadership and life!

You have to admit that over the past few weeks it has been hard to be “optimistic” in the face of the wild and often depressing headlines. Whether we’re facing the wild gyrations of the world’s capital markets, the inane politically motivated debates in Washington, the desperate famine conditions in Somalia, or the riots in Brixton, there seems very little to be “optimistic“ about! In the midst of these realities, it has struck me that now more than ever, we need to take a moment to discuss the importance of maintaining “Optimism” as a priority for leadership and life.

When I use the word “optimism”, I want to refresh ourselves on the dictionary definition:

” Hopefulness and confidence about the future or successful outcome of something”

This is not some “Pollyannaish”, pie-in-the-sky, naïve view of the world. There are three key words in the definition, hopefulness / confidence / future, that are at the center of my thinking and in how I believe we can all apply “optimism” to our daily realities in our work and our lives.

Optimism in the face of challenges

It is often when facing challenges that we understandably are the least optimistic. How many times have you thought, “How can I/we handle this?” when facing a challenge at work. Similarly, when facing issues in our personal lives, so often the road ahead appears unclear at best. It’s in these moments that I want to encourage a quick “optimism exercise.” Take a moment and recall/write down a list of the challenges/barriers/problems that you, or your business, or your family, have faced over the past few years. Once that list is compiled, add the actions and outcomes, aligned to each “challenge/issue”, that actually occurred. I am often surprised how the major issues of the past seem so handle able and achievable in hindsight. That same truth applies to the challenges of today. If we approach our challenges of today with focus, energy, capability, and optimism, they will likely be overcome as were the challenges of the past.

Optimism in the face of opportunities

In a slightly different light than the example above, there are times that the breadth of opportunities or options in a circumstance can be debilitating rather than energizing. Whether faced by a thriving and growing business, a child with numerous education options, a parent who has their health AND adequate retirement savings, or many other situations, it is important to start with perspective. It’s a blessing, an honor and a treat to have options and opportunities. Do not let this dynamic slow you down, be optimistic about your options. Rather than trying to make “the perfect” decision/choice, focus on making a good/great choice, and I am confident that those good/great choices will amplify your opportunities in the future. Take advantage of opportunities, they are often rare and fleeting moments. Be optimistic as you use these opportunity moments to maximize the potential of a “future or successful outcome of something.”

Optimism in the face of others

While the discussions above may seem straightforward enough, I want to add another element. How many times have you been faced with an issue/problem and rather than easily having a quiet moment to gather your thoughts privately, you are surrounded by the worried eyes of your team, your department, your company, or your family. All of those eyes looking to you to gauge your reaction. If you freak out, it will certainly have an impact, possibly starting a brushfire of panic. It’s in those moments that I remind myself of “PBR” (Pause, Breath, and Reconnect: see earlier essay of same name). If possible slow down the situation and “work the problem.” I often find it helpful to deploy the team to clarify the issue and build options in moments like this. That historic phrase, “Idle hands are the devils workshop,” is good to remember. Keep your team/company/family busy as you work to clarify the situation and begin making a game plan for the required actions ahead.

Optimism for the future

If you’re honest with yourself, what do you hope for the future? What do you aspire the future to be for your kids, your team, or your company? I think most of us want the future to be bright for those we care about. I think most of us want our businesses to thrive after we move on to other challenges. Especially today in the midst of such acrimonious debate about our country’s finances, it seems that the political parties have so little common ground. But is that actually true? It may be naïve to think that regardless of party, the individual congress men and women want to leave this county better for their children or grandchildren. We all have in common the truth that our walk on this earth is amazingly short and we’ve been given a chance to have an impact, let’s do that with an optimistic eye to the future.

In closing I want to quote former Secretary of State Colin Powell, “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.” This idea that optimism can and will enhance the impact and success of an organization rings deeply true to me. The idea of “perpetual optimism”, the concept that an optimistic outlook and approach is not episodic, but continual or uninterrupted, is powerful and challenging. The question isn’t whether we will face challenges/issues/problems/setbacks in our work or our lives; we will! The opportunity for all of us it to face these moments with an eye to an “optimistic” approach, always working to have our approach be guided by the facts of the moment AND the possibilities that lie ahead.

We Deserve Better!

It is rare that I write about a topic in this blog that is related to a current political topic. With more than two years past, and over 60 essays written, my main purpose in this blog has been to share thoughts and stories that could be thought about as “lessons of leadership and life.” Unfortunately, our current political impasse regarding our debt ceiling, deficit, spending and taxation levels, et al, has lead me to be focused on one idea … we deserve better !

Regardless of political orientation, whether on the right, the left, or the broad “un –named middle” of the American political spectrum, we must remember that we are all first and foremost Americans. Today’s N.Y. Times included an article titled “Working with a new script to stop a train wreck,” stated “Now, partisan and ideological boundaries are powerfully self-reinforcing – a double layered Great Wall of Division, buttressed by fund-raising patterns and gerrymandered House districts.” This can’t be what we aspire for our democracy!

As Americans we have the freedom to travel broadly across the world, and when we travel and enter a foreign county, it is important to remember what our passports DO NOT say. There is no section for Republican, Democrat, Tea Party, Independent, Green, or any other possible political party affiliation. There is the simple line that reads,

“Nationality: United States of America”

As Americans, we must remember the tortured political crucible of our beginnings. Somehow in the midst of unbelievable political turmoil, early Americans came together to form a nation and a government, based on a few fundamental principles, still very relevant today.


“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” (U.S. Constitution)

I aspire that today’s political debate be more centered on a few of these ideas. Do the competing proposals help us “establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility,” and “provide for the common defense”? Does inaction on the mounting deficit (again regardless of party) help us “promote the general welfare”? Finally, does political grandstanding and brinksmanship help us as Americans “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,”? We must remember that though the debate is very current, our actions (or inactions) will bear fruit, good or bad, for generations to come.

With all of this said, I am not without hope for our collective, American, future. We have a history of facing great challenges and achieving great things. I continue to be reminded of an inspiring quote from Dr. Martin Luther King jr. that I have commented on in earlier essays:

“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 flotsam and jetsam in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him.” (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech)

It is in challenging and frustrating times like today that we must seek the “oughtness” not the “isness” of mankind. We as Americans are not merely the “flotsam and jetsam” of American politics! We need to stay focused on the words of inspirational Americans , whether from the 1780’s or the 1960’s, and expect and demand our elected officials to take action on behalf of all Americans today, and for our posterity to come!

Customer Service …. From the back of the parking lot!

The past year or so since joining Bolthouse Farms has been a wonderful experience for me; learning so much and getting a chance to work with so many terrific individuals. After a career in marketing and sales of more than twenty five years, it’s invigorating (and at times very challenging) to have a chance to build new skills and have so many new experiences. I am appreciative to have this opportunity and I am trying to “savor” the experience every day, (some days easier said than done!)

One of the groups that I absolutely love working with is our merchandising team, “the secret ingredient” for Bolthouse Farms. This team of young, dynamic, energized professionals is the frontline of our business, calling on retail stores every day, working hard as an ambassador of our company to make every store a great representation of our brands and products. I have a chance to work with these folks a few times a month, never enough, and I always come away being impressed and inspired by the talent and the motivation. Whenever I have had a few tough weeks, I always try to spend a day “in the field” with one of our merchandisers and consistently I find the “spring back in my step!” A number of months ago, I was spending a day in the field and had the chance to share the following story from the early days of my career.

The story goes back to one of my first weeks working for Kimberly Clark. As I wrote about in the essay “The story of Earl”, I spent the first six months after joining K-C in a formal training program. We spent the first few months in sales training, then a month at a mill, before heading to headquarters and joining a brand team as a marketing assistant. I had spent a few days with a sales trainer, (a very seasoned salesman named Tommy Griffiths) and I was given a sales bag, a route book, and told to report back to the office on Friday. I was on my own, that much was sure, so I headed off on my route trying to hit at least 10 stores a day. My job was to check on and merchandise all of K-C products in the store, (notably Kleenex facial tissues, Huggies diapers, Hi-Dri paper towels, Kotex feminine care products) always working to expand Availability and Space. (I will cover AMPS in a future essay; little did I know that I was working on the “A” and the “S” in those early days.)

Well one day on my route, I pulled up to a small rural “Big Star” grocery store, parked right up front, pulled out my sales bag and started heading to the front door. I had taken a step or two when an older fellow wearing an apron with a name badge asked me why I was parking “up front.” I stopped in my tracks, trying to make a good impression, and introduced myself as his new Kimberly Clark sales rep and that I was at his store to check on the K-C products.
With a slow southern drawl, he said “son, if you are here to shop, you can park up front, if you’re here to sell, you park at the back of the parking lot.” He added that after I had moved my car to the other end of HIS parking lot, I should bring a few stranded shopping carts with me as I walked to the front door. Casually he turned and went back into the store, leaving me standing on the front curb. I didn’t really understand how, but just by parking my car, I had angered the manager of this grocery store. Quickly I went back into my car, drove it out to the end of the parking lot, and started again. I picked up 2-3 shopping carts and rolled them across the parking lot as I walked to the front doors. After dropping off the carts, I gathered my sales bag and entered the store. Graciously, the manager walked right up to me, shook my hand, and asked my name. The rest of the sales call is lost in the haze of memory (now almost twenty six years ago), but the memory form the parking lot is fresh today.

I shared the story because regardless of the situation, whether in a customer’s office, a meeting room, on a conference call or in a parking lot, we need to be aware and conscious of our actions and how they might affect our customers. It’s important to remember that THEIR jobs are hard, THEIR challenges real, and regardless of OUR agendas or priorities, we must always work to translate them into THEIR measures of success. We often get very wrapped up in OUR issues and challenges, but it is my experience that success starts by trying to understand THEIR challenges and priorities. That “Big Star” store manager wanted to insure that HIS customers had the best parking spots for HIS store, making it easy for HIS customers to enter HIS store and easy for them to carry their groceries out to their cars. It was a simple yet profound lesson of orientation. Was I thinking about the store manager as I pulled up in his parking lot that day so many years ago, or was I thinking about myself?

The photo above is from a recent visit with one of our talented and inspiring merchandisers in Ohio. As you can see, she is standing beside her Bolthouse Farms vehicle, parked at the back of the parking lot! Well done!

Unexpected Beauty

Through the course of life, we often come to anticipate or expect beautiful sights, sounds or moments in certain specific locations. In previous essays, I have commented on the beauty of a sunrise on the Atlantic coast, or a moonrise over the Columbia River in eastern Washington State. Both were moments of tremendous beauty and both in what I would describe as beautiful environments. Additionally I have written about the moments of experiencing beauty in museums, being absolutely blown away by the marvelous impressionist paintings on view at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. Breathtaking indeed! What I want to share today is a recent experience where I was overwhelmed by “beauty” in an environment where it was least expected.

My family and I recently returned from a marvelous vacation to Paris. We had been itching for a “big trip” and while there were a hundred reasons why it would have been “smarter” to take the trip at some later date (the kids are too young, it’s too expensive, there’s too much going on at work, etc.) I was reminded this spring on just how fragile life can be so we eagerly made plans to head to France. Our plan was simple; we would spend the whole time in Paris, each day exploring two or three sights, taking a rest in the afternoon, and heading out in the evening to find a café to enjoy a great meal. Obviously a number of the “sights” would be museums (The Louvre, Musee d’Orsay, L’Orangerie, etc) and churches (Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, Sacre Coeur, Saint Sulpice, etc), all locations of anticipated beauty. We were not disappointed, the shimmering stained glass light in Sainte Chapelle literally did take our breath away and the water lilies by Monet at L’Orangerie were unbelievable. Huge floor to ceiling panels of Monet’s famous Japanese garden in Giverny, completely enclosing two oval rooms, absolutely overwhelming. This past year in school, Marie had done a report on the artist Edgar Degas. Watching her come upon his “Tiny Dancer” in a temporary exhibit at Musee d’Orsay was outstanding. Indeed, having her strike the statue’s famous pose brought tears to these eyes. Additionally, watching Bryson working away in his sketchbook as we visited the Louvre, sketching various statues near the Marly horses, was absolutely inspiring. How did Jennie and I get lucky enough to have these two wonderful kids???

As you can tell from the above, we did indeed experience “beauty” in numerous “expected” environments. When you visit the Louvre and see the Mona Lisa, or the Venus de Milo, you expect to find “beauty,” and we were not disappointed. It was on our journey from the Louvre back to our hotel one day that the unexpected occurred. We were constantly using the Metro in Paris and by the end of our week, we became pretty good at navigating its system. We changed trains and changed lines regularly and even used the RER line to get to and from the Charles de Gaulle Airport. The route from the Louvre back to our hotel in Montparnasse required us to change trains in the Chatelet station that day in order to head back to “our” metro stop, good old Raspail! We had changed trains at Chatelet before, without incident, but we had been left with one strong memory… the smell! For some reason, this station was obviously used by a number of Paris’s homeless community as their underground bathroom. It reeked! Jokingly, we all held our breath as we moved from one rail line to another to work our way home to the Raspail metro stop. It was in this “least expected” environment that beauty struck an amazing chord.

We literally were in the beginning of rush hour and the crowds were starting to increase as we made our way through the Chatelet station. As we turned a corner, still holding our breath a bit, we started to hear music. It wasn’t unusual at all to hear live music in the Paris metro. I am certain that we heard an accordion, a guitarist, or possibly a lone violinist every day during our visit. What was unusual at this moment was that the music grew louder and larger as we drew near. Rather than a lone musician, there were nine or ten musicians; all gathered in a small passage way, playing what I think was a Mozart string concerto, fiercely. It was unbelievable! Very few of them were reading any music, they played in wonderful unison, and the acoustics of the tiled metro station were unreal. The music stopped all of us in our tracks, and we moved to the side, up a few steps, to get out of the way and enjoy the “beauty.” I was so moved by the moment, watching my family equally consumed in this unusual scene, overwhelmed by the music that I began to cry. Marie turned to me, seeing my tears, and asked why I was crying. Was it the music? Was it the jet lag? I’m still not sure what triggered the tears. I really had no answer other than I was overwhelmed by the moment and I was so happy to be together as a family. I gathered myself as the music came to a finish, a most amazing moment in a most unexpected location.

I wanted to share this story because since our return a few weeks ago, my thoughts continue to return to that metro station. Moments like that cannot be planned, created, or even anticipated in a travel itinerary. We could go back to that metro station today and while I am confident in the smell that we would encounter, I am doubtful that we would encounter the overwhelming “beauty” of that recent moment. I think we all need to be aware and open to what might be awaiting us through the twists and turns of life. As I have written numerous times, life is fragile and life is short. Whether I think back to my mother Arline, my sister-in-law Carrie, my dear friend Bruce, or my mother-in-law Jane, all are sweet fond memories that were lost too early. Life is now, beauty can happen anywhere, whether in a historic museum or in a smelly Paris metro station. I think it’s our opportunity to try to live this life as fully as we can, keeping our eyes and hearts open to beautiful moments wherever they might occur.

Lessons from the team!

Recently I had the pleasure to take a group of inspiring young leaders on a leadership experience to the North Carolina mountains. One of the activities was a hike up Whiteside Mountain, accompanied by a set of readings and discussions.

In preparation for the trip, I had the team read three documents: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech; chapters from Cicero's "On a Life Well Spent"; and a recent blog essay of mine titled "Leadership with a Growth Mindset." My intent was to use the three readings to provoke thinking around the group's approach and priorities as leaders. As we climbed the mountain trail, we paused at different points to share a reading, discuss it's meaning, and connect it to our lives and work today. The discussions were lively and profound, complemented by stunning scenery and vistas. As you can see by the photo, we were no worse for the wear from the climb and the discussions!

At the end of the trip, one of the team shared the following story. I was thrilled to hear the story on the trip, and I loved the idea that all of us have experiences and stories from our lives to share with others. I have found the story of "The Mexican Fisherman" poignant, and I hope that you do as well!


Story of the Mexican Fisherman

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his catch. “How long did it take you to get those?” he asked.
“Not so long,” said the Mexican.
“Then why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?” asked the American.
The Mexican explained that his small catch was quite enough to meet his needs and feed his family.

“So what do you do with the rest of your time?” asked the American.
“I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evening, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar and sing a few songs. I have a full life.”

The American interrupted. “I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.”
“And after that?” asked the Mexican.
“With the extra money the bigger boat will bring, you can buy a second boat and then a third boat, and then more until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants. Pretty soon you could open your own plant. You could leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York! From there you could direct your whole enterprise.”
“How long would that take?” asked the Mexican.
“Twenty — perhaps twenty-five years,” replied the American.
“And after that?”

“Afterwards? Well, my friend,” laughed the American, “that’s when it gets really interesting. When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!”
“Millions? Really? And after that?” said the Mexican.
“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a beautiful place near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take siestas with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends.”

***

The moral of the story… Know where you’re going in life — you may already be there.