The Cusp of Change

Speedy Oatmeal Cookies with craisins & coconut

We are having a shift of weather in Tri-Cities this week. The wind has been blowing since yesterday morning.  When I left work last night, it was a warmer wind than early in the morning.

The big guy at our office, who died last May, explained to me about the weather patterns around here. He said because we're in a big valley that the weather socks in. It's true. So, this wind is necessary to blow all the winter clouds out of here.

Isn't it funny how some things that people say to you stick in your brain and other things fall off, as Gene would say, "as if your brain is made of teflon?"

I worked for the executive director at hospice in Yuma and he loved giving new employees the assignment to read his favorite business book by Jim Collins called "Good to Great".  I love this quote from the book talking about great leaders:

Disciplined people: “Who” before “what”

You are a bus driver. The bus, your company, is at a standstill, and it’s your job to get it going. You have to decide where you're going, how you're going to get there, and who's going with you. Most people assume that great bus drivers (read: business leaders) immediately start the journey by announcing to the people on the bus where they're going—by setting a new direction or by articulating a fresh corporate vision. In fact, leaders of companies that go from good to great start not with “where” but with “who.” They start by getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats. 

I have never forgotten this little paragraph.  To me, it's a powerful statement both for business leaders and me (read: person in charge of my own life).

Another person who said something powerful to me a very long time ago was a nurse practitioner I was seeing after I had some major life changing surgery. I kept going back to see her with complaints about medications she was prescribing and one day I apologized for being so irritable.  She said, "honey, you have to be in charge of your own health care. Don't ever forget you are in the driver's seat. We'll keep working together to find a solution to your problem."  Her name was Lila and she was a rare find for a health care provider. How many doctors do you know who would drop their ego and say that to you? How is it possible I still remember her name?

The weather is on the cusp of changing.  And, so am I.

love, susan