They're Always Watching!

People may not do what you tell them to do, but they WILL do what YOU do, so be careful and deliberate about what you do. As General George Patton said, “We’re always on parade.”

 

It’s the very first Black Thanksgiving! You know, when stores started opening up with HUGE (Yeah, RIGHT!) sales Thanksgiving evening. 

 

My daughter, Elyse, invites me to go with her to Walmart this particular Thanksgiving evening. I love her so much that I accept. Actually, there IS something I want to buy, because it’s “half price!” I never did the research to see what the original price was, but the ad said “half price” so I’m in. ALL IN!

 

Here’s what was bumfoozling, the sale starts at 2300 (11 PM for you non-military folks.). Got that. But Walmart is open 24 hours. How’s THAT gonna work? Not very well, really, read on….

 

We figure there will be a lot of folks taking advantage of all the great sales tonight, so we’d better get there early. If nothing else, we can get in line. I LOVE getting in line. I’ve served in the Air Force for 50 years. I KNOW how to get in line. Sometimes, at a store, I’ll see a line and get in it. I don’t have to know what the line is for. It’s a line. I’ve been trained. I get in it. It’s a habit.

 

SO, we get to Walmart about 2200 (10 PM.) As expected, there are hundreds of people throughout the store. And there are lines. I’m like a puppy on a leash. Let me get in line, PLEASE!

 

Oh, don’t let me leave you hanging. The item I wanted to buy that was “half price” was a trampoline. My daughter, Tesa, has two daughters and I thought it’d be a great gift for them. It actually was.   And it was “half price!” Where’s the line?!

 

Elyse heads to find her own line (She’s been in the Air Force ALL of her life. Literally.). She’s watched me get in line all of her life. So, she, too, knows how to do that. I’m trying to figure out where they might have trampolines. AHA! Let me ask. I notice an already-frazzled manager walking by, so I stop her and ask her. She sighs, one of those “I wish I wasn’t here” sighs and tells me to follow her. She takes me way back to near the tire sales in the corner of the store. She points to this big pallet of boxes under a sign that says “Trampolines.” As I turn to thank her, she proclaims to me, and everyone around, that the sale starts at 2300. Please don’t take the boxes until then.

 

What do people do when they’re told not to do something? What they were told not to do! That’s exactly what happens. The manager leaves and people start putting trampoline boxes on their carts. Now, let me tell you, in case you’ve never bought a trampoline. If you have, you know what I mean. Those boxes are heavy, Man! I’m not sure what the actual weight is, but they have to be several hundred pounds. People are struggling to put their boxes on their respective carts and the carts are barely able to hold them up. And, of course, they don’t fit INSIDE the cart. You just kinda set the box on the cart just to roll it over to the cashier. (BTW, all of the cashier stations are manned for this event! If you shop at Walmart, you know what a surprise that is.) 

 

I’m watching all of these folks put trampoline boxes on their carts and I get to thinking that I better do the same, before they’re all gone. And it seems to be the American thing to do. I’m ALL IN!

 

As I huff and puff, attempting to get this incredibly heavy box onto the cart I “borrowed” from someone who wasn’t paying attention to their cart, hence not protecting it, and you know, you snooze you lose, I hear a voice like out of the heavens ask, “How you doing, Chief?!”

 

Time stops. Like in the movies. I look around and everyone has frozen in their steps. I look toward the source of the voice only to see a couple of my cadets.  At the time I was teaching at the United States Air Force Academy’s Center for Character and Leadership Development. Every cadet had to go through my class. It was a graduation requirement. Which means that they all knew me. “How you doing, Chief?” 

 

“I’m fine,” is my reply. “How are you?” “We’re good. Whatcha doing?” Okay, so what am I going to tell them? “I’m violating what the manager just admonished us are the rules for tonight’s sale. THAT’S what I’m doing!” Okay, Okay, I think it, but, luckily, I know the difference between outer voice and inner voice. I keep it inner voice. “Just trying to make my granddaughters happy,” is my lame reply. “Oh,” they say as they look at each other, then at me, obviously, not sure what I mean. “Well, have a good evening,” they smile, as they keep looking at me.

 

Look. I’m on a fixed income. This item is “half price.” If I don’t take it now, I may not get one. You’d do the same thing, wouldn’t you? Don’t judge me. We’re no different. 

 

Folks, they’re watching! Always! Our followers, our students, our kids. They’re watching us. It’s how they learn. It’s how WE learned. If we’re going to be Leaders of Character we have to live up to, and value, integrity in everything we do. We have to be ALL IN! ALL THE TIME! We have to model what we want others to learn from us. What they see is what they’ll be. (Whew! That was a good sermon, wasn’t it?)

 

I choose to do the right thing. I put the trampoline box back on the pallet. And I become the sheriff. It’s fun, actually. I stand there and, in my command voice, tell folks who are about to put a trampoline box on their cart that the sale won’t start for another half hour or so and that they are not to take them until then. It’s amazing what people will do, or not, when you act with authority. Oh, I get plenty of dirty looks, but I’m used to that. I’m a Chief!

 

Finally, 2300 (11 PM) arrives, I put one of the trampoline boxes on my cart, I look over to see my cadets, but they’re gone, and I pay “half price” for my item. The hardest part is getting that stinking box in my Jeep. As I’m about to walk away, that stressed-out manager comes over and thanks me for maintaining control of that pallet, which was empty by 2305, by the way. Kinda makes me feel good to do the right thing.

 

Integrity is doing what’s right when no one is watching AND when EVERYONE is watching. Someone is ALWAYS watching! Do the right thing anyway. We learn by watching. Make sure that what people are watching you do is BEING integrity.

 

Until next time, be GREAT! You ARE!

 

¡HEIRPOWER!

Leaving a Legacy

 A legacy, by definition, is “a gift.” I looked it up! When you lead, you’re providing a gift to your followers. If you’ve done it right, you’ve given them a gift that they will, in turn, pass on to THEIR followers. That’s the value of leaving a legacy. And we all do...leave a legacy. I’m convinced that most of us, if not all of us, would prefer to leave a legacy of being good leaders.

The other day, I was walking the halls when I noticed a young captain leaning against a wall, looking at his cell phone, probably texting. As I came upon him, he acknowledged me by saying good morning and as he did so, he noticed who I was and smiled as he almost proclaimed, “Chief Vásquez!” People do that! Often, with the expectation that I remember them. I’ve met a lot of people in my short time on this earth. I can’t remember them all. It ain’t old age…it’s the altitude! Anyway, I said hello and, not being able to help myself, I stopped to chat with him. Yeah, I know that not everyone has time to listen to my stories, but most people respect me enough to humor me. I appreciate that.

 

The captain reminded me that he’d been one of my students about seventeen years ago. Man, I REALLY don’t remember that far back! We talked about the workshop he’d attended with me. I asked him if he remembered what I attempted to teach him. He did! Not everything, but some things, which is, I think, enough. What he recalled most was how I made him feel, which was “good.” Empowered is what he described. Empowered to strive to be a better person daily. That’s my legacy.

 

As I said before, we all leave some kind of legacy. What will yours be? When you leave the team, group, organization, that you’re a part of now, what gifts will you have left those who remain? What will they say about you? You know they will, right? What would you LIKE them to say?

 

A decade-and-a-half ago, a good friend and colleague rushes into my office, a concerned look on his face, and proclaims, “Chief!” “Sir,” I reply as I stand for him. He sighs with relief and looks me over as he says, “I just got an email from a friend who told me that Bob Vásquez had died! So, I came in as fast as I could to make sure it wasn’t true!”

 

Now, THAT’S never happened! Plenty of stories about me have been told, but I’ve never known THAT story to circulate! I immediately looked myself over to ensure I truly WAS still alive. I even pinched my arm, just to make sure. Interestingly, a gentleman by the same name HAD passed away. I know because I went over to the library and found the man’s obituary in the local newspaper. He was my age, had two daughters, was originally from New Mexico...there was an uncanny resemblance, not physical, but in life events. I bought a copy of the paper and cut out the obit to look at once in a while to remind me of the inevitable course of life. What’s NOT inevitable is my, your, legacy. I’ll ask again. What gifts will you leave behind? What will they say about you? You can control that to some degree, you know, by your behavior. If you want people to remember you as kind, be kind! Loving? Love! You catch my drift.

 

In my life, the measure of success, especially as a dad, which is one of my most important roles, is that my daughters know that I love them. The test is when I tell them that I love them and they respond with, “I know.” One of my favorite maxims is, “When you came into this world you cried, and the people rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you leave this world the people will cry, and you will rejoice.” Strive to leave a legacy that people will appreciate. Start now!

Welcome Home!

 

My daughter, Elyse, graduated from the College of the Ozarks in Branson, Missouri. One summer, as we delivered her to the campus, we found out that they’d just opened the Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater in town. 

 

You’re probably too young to know, but back in the day, all of us youngsters used to watch American Bandstand religiously. It was on television. In black and white. It came on Saturday afternoons. It was our connection to what was hip in the music world. It was hosted by the ageless Dick Clark. Ask your grandparents about the show and Dick Clark. 

 

So, the Dick Clark’s American Bandstand Theater opens up in Branson the same weekend we’re in Branson. The headliner is Paul Revere and the Raiders, one my most favorite groups ever! I MUST see them! I ask Deb, Elyse, and her future husband, Jeremy, to join me. I cop some good tickets and we attend the show.

 

During the show, right in the middle, Paul Revere has EVERYTHING going on on stage that you can imagine, singers, dancers, smoke, fireworks, horses, you name it. As all of these things are happening at once, he, all-of-a-sudden, stands up from his keyboard and shouts, “STOP!” And everything does. And then he says, “All of you Vietnam War Vets, please stand up.” There were half a dozen of us in the audience. We all stood up. And then Paul Revere says, “Welcome home!” He then returns to the show. Sorry. I get a little choked up when I recall this.  

 

You see, all of us vets agreed that day that it was the first time anyone had welcomed us home. Some of my Veteran Brothers were in wheelchairs, some were supported by canes, all were older than I. When we returned from the Far East back decades ago, none of us had received a welcome of any sort. In most cases, it had been the opposite.

 

Many have sacrificed themselves, their health, mental and physical, to protect this great country of ours. Consider thanking them when you get the opportunity. As one of my new friends said that day, “We did it for you!”

The Value of Micromanaging!

Micromanaging Sucks…or DOES it?

We often repeat mantras only because we’ve heard them so often that we believe they’re true. I mean, I read it on social media a bunch of times, so it must be true, right? Not necessarily!

 

Such is the admonition that micromanaging sucks. Please, pardon the vernacular, but it’s often how it’s referred to. Or something to that effect. Like so many things that we’re adamant about, maybe that proposition is true…maybe not.

 

Micromanaging can suck when it’s used to control or force people to perform at less than their peak capabilities. There are folks who apply micromanagement as their only tool to manage and lead. They suck! Again, sorry, for the vernacular, but you know it’s true. Aldous Huxley said that “We shall know the truth and it shall make us mad.” If you’re a manager or supervisor or consider yourself a leader and your default method is micromanaging, seek help. Like, RIGHT NOW! Know this, though. Your followers probably won’t tell you. They’re afraid to! And you may not know it either. Find someone whom you can trust to tell you the truth, not what you want to hear. You’ll appreciate them one day. They may appreciate you more now.

 

Okay, so what’s the value in micromanaging. First, it should only be applied for short periods, not forever. And it should serve the purpose of teaching or helping a follower empower themselves to achieve their peak performance.

 

You have a new teammate who has never done what you hired her to do. You saw great potential in her when you interviewed her, and she has a little training and experience. That’s all good. But this place, and how we do things here, is different. It always is, by the way. You send her to a training course. She finishes at the top of her class. GREAT! You have a choice now, you can assume that she can do the job, or you can ensure that she can do the job. How will you know? Watch her! If she actually CAN do the job to your expectation or better, let her continue. That will empower her. But if she CAN’T, manage her closely until she can. If you hired right, she’ll pick up on it quickly, then you can go do something else. That, too, is empowering.

 

Been there. Done that! I assumed many positions for which I had no training. I had potential. Yeah, RIGHT! Well, I was smart enough to know where to get the training I needed. But a new hire may not be that resourceful. Often, I received an incoming briefing, telling me what I would be doing and how. The trainer always asked if I got it. I’m not gonna be THAT guy and say no. Of course, I nodded my head, while my brain was asking, “What was that all about?” 

 

Don’t use the term but practice the method. Stay close to that person and make sure they know how to do it right. Be there often to ensure she gets it. Once she does, go away. “Oh, I’ll give her feedback in a week, when it’s due,” you say. I don’t know about you, but I can really screw things up in a matter of a week. I’m an overachiever. I’ll quickly learn how to do it wrong, which will be difficult to retrain later. 

 

Micromanaging sucks when you use it incorrectly. There’s value in it when you use it right. 

 

Until next time,

 

Be GREAT!

 

You ARE!

 

¡HEIRPOWER!