Tag: business

Time Flies and It BLOWS!!!

disneyland at halloweenProbably a short post today, but this past week we were at Disneyland with our two kids and I was reminded of how fast time flies… and it sucks… big time!

The last time we were at Disneyland, Olivia was three and Kade was six months old. Olivia was in heaven! She was totally into all of the Princesses and we spent hours hunting them down for signatures and pictures. This time, she is almost six and she wanted absolutely nothing to do with the Princesses. All she wanted to do was ride the big rides over and over again. Her favorite rides are the Tower of Terror and Space Mountain. While standing in line for the Tower of Terror I looked at her and I got really sad. She is old… and it happened over night.

I guess the reason I’m writing this is because while looking at her it reminded me of how short life is and how important it is to spend time with my kids while they are young, because it won’t be long till they want nothing to do with me 🙂

Since returning home, I’ve started shelving my phone and leaving my laptop in my bag until they are asleep. I want to give them my full, undivided attention and it has been amazing. I also try and leave work around 4:30 (of course I go into the office super early and work late into the night after the kids are asleep) each day to get home and see them. Some might say I’m crazy… some might say if you don’t spend 10-12 hours a day in the office, you aren’t a good employee, let alone a leader, but I disagree.

I believe that you have to have a good work/personal life balance in order to be a good employee and a good leader and just because this is the way I work, doesn’t mean I get any less done or my work/clients suffer. I would say the opposite. I get more done because I am focused, efficient, and productive during the hours I’m in the office. It works great! You should try it sometime 🙂

Well, I don’t have much else to say other than if you are a working mom or dad, take enough time to spend with your family before you blink and they are old and don’t like you.

The Inc. 500

inc 500

So, I was browsing the Inc 500 tonight and noticed that there were three specific companies on the list last year that failed to make it this year and it got me thinking… what makes an Inc. 500 company? Sure, there’s the obvious ones, companies with huge margins and a rockstar marketing and sales force, companies who innovate like crazy, companies who solve the specific needs of a very specific niche, etc.

What else? Well, the people do. Your front line employees, your middle management, many of your upper management, etc. Not just people though, people who are bought into the company mission, vision, values, and goals. People who feel respected each and every day. People who are driven by crazy success. People who are given credit for the hard work they do each and every day. People who trust in company leaders to make the right decisions and do the right thing, every time and in every situation. People who aren’t scared of the owner or individuals on the executive team and their next asinine, dictating moves. And the list can go on and on.

I’ve been reading Good to Great and it is sad what one person can do to a company. In as little as a few years, one arrogant, egotistical person can corrupt an organization and bring it to its knees. Honestly, reading this book and pondering after reading through each company on the Inc. 500 list this year makes me want to be a different kind of leader with my new company. It makes me want to work harder each and every day to develop our people and to give them credit for their work and their successes. It makes me want to lose myself and not worry what everyone outside of the organization thinks of me, as long as our people trust and believe in the direction we are taking things.

I’ll tell you one thing, I’m excited for the coming years and I’m extremely excited to see where our people take our company.