Leading By Example

How many of you have heard the term, “One of the best ways to lead is to lead by example?” What about this one – “Character is what you do when you think no one is looking?"

I can remember 5th grade history class like it was yesterday. I was sitting at my desk listening to Mrs. Hibbert teach about World War II and how though it was a great tragedy, great things came after it. She referred to the people that fought in the war, grew up during the preceding depression and came back from the war to rebuild America as the “Greatest Generation." I can vividly recall thinking, "if they’re the greatest generation, what can the other generations that follow possibly do to compare?"

Other journalists aside from Tom Brokaw have named some of the other generations over the years: The Lost (20's), The Silent Generation (50's), Baby Boomers & Generation X (those born after the baby boom).

Friends, I have a question for you: When these tough times we’re in now are over, when President Obama’s legacy is being written, and when we turn our America over to our children and children’s children, WHAT WILL THEY CALL OUR GENERATION? Names have meaning and I'm not sure I like what I see.

Let’s take a look at things from a very high level shall we? We'll start with the government, it's an easy target! Three examples come to mind:
1. We voted to approve a nearly $800B stimulus package in order to "rescue" the country and pull us out of a recession. I'm not saying that we should have done nothing along these lines, but $800 Billion? Here's my issue with this - what kind of debt will future generations be stuck with because of our unwillingness to deal with this problem responsibly? This action epitomizes passing the buck in my mind. This country was built on the backs of people that were mindful of the future and our posterity. This narrow-minded focus seems awfully selfish to me.

2. We’re doing everything we can to prevent big companies like GM from going out of business by giving them money when they’ve proven they can’t responsibly handle their own! In what dream world to the people making these decisions live in? When I was a kid, hell even now, if I don't do my job, my boss would fire me, not give me more responsibility! What kind of example are we setting here? Is it just me that's confused?

3. We’re printing more money today than we ever have in the history of our country – it’s just paper!! And worth about as much as a sheet of paper! Enough said.

Ok, so maybe the business world is better?

1. Madoff, Ebers, Skilling, Nacchio – all these names have something in common: none of them chose to play by the rules and now many Americans are still suffering the consequences. Regulatory Compliance (while it's helping pay my bills) is out of control because of a few that decided they were above the rules!

2. What about our selfish mentality? Of course we all want to work to get ahead and provide for ourselves and our families, but at what costs? Business today is moving faster and faster and leaving behind it a trail of debt and destruction all in the name of making $5 for every $1 we spend. It's scary to me to think about what implications this greedy mentality will have on our future as a nation.

3. Our National Pride really sucks. We send more and more work everyday to offshore, nearshore, and outsourced international companies. All in the name of saving a few dollars, and we wonder why we’re having a hard time finding jobs for everyone???

The Business world is not better.

So that leaves our private, family lives. That's got to be better right?
1. Stuff = Status – 80% of Americans are living beyond their means. We have enough debt as Americans to pay off the national debt of China (ok that's a joke). We have created a culture where the more cool stuff you have, the more status you have. I'm not pretending that I don't want the "stuff", because I do, and I actually have too much of it already, but my concern here again is what are we teaching our kids?

2. Instant Gratification: Nothing new here. The art of saving money is LOST! Amy and I are currently taking a money management class. We've found that when you have a baby, the dollars need to be stretched and saved even more. I bring this up because our instructor used this example in class that rocked me to my core. He pulled out an old "Budget Book" from the 1940's. It was basically what looked like a small day planner, but it had envelopes in it instead of pages. He pointed out that among the envelope labels of "Groceries", "Bills", and "Clothes" there was one envelope that simply said "Hawaii." OH MY GOSH!! WHAT A CONCEPT! SAVING FOR A VACATION? You mean they didn't just put it on the Visa and acquire debt? This is the mentality that's missing. It's not about what we deserve in life, it's about what we earn! Our instructor eloquently said, "Ladies & Gentlemen, the best vacations in the world are the ones that don't follow you home." AMEN!

3. A Hard-Earned Buck – 48% of American kids between the ages of 13 & 18 today have some kind of access to their parents’ bank accounts. WHAT? There are so many things wrong with this on so many levels.

If they wrote a history book chapter right now about the state of the nation today – would it compare to the attitude and values exemplified by the Greatest Generation? I think not.

I would like to issue a challenge to those of you who have made it this far through my rant. We are at a point in our own history where it is more critical than ever, to LEAD BY EXAMPLE.

So what does that mean? Am I asking you to change the way the President thinks? NO.
Am I asking you to protest big business? NO. Am I asking us all to live a neat little self-contained life where we do not indulge or enjoy the world around us once in a while? NO.

I’m asking all of us to take responsibility for our own actions to make peace with our own circumstances and stop blaming everyone else for the challenges we’re facing today and to stop making excuses and start producing results. The next generation is watching. They're watching what we do, what we say and more importantly, how we act and make decisions in the face of adversity. We need to teach our children and encourage each other that there is great pride and ultimately greater chances for success for those that chose to take responsibility for themselves. Our actions speak much louder than our words.

We have to CHOOSE to see these times as an opportunity to change the future for our children and our children’s children. There is no greater testimony to what our generation stands for than to simply look at the legacy we leave behind. I for one, hope that we all choose to stand for responsibility to ourselves and to others.

We must chose to lead by example with our own lives and with our own choices. Our future, and more importantly the future of posterity depends on it. If we can grasp that concept, then maybe, just maybe, elementary school teachers will someday talk about another "Greatest Generation."