Posts tagged business professionals
Champion or Hero
May 15th
Do you know the difference between a Champion and a Hero, is there any?
Webster’s defines a Champion as a person who has defeated all opponents in a competition or series of competitions, so as to hold first place. You can also Champion a cause or support someone else’s efforts.
They define a Hero as a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities. A person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal. Can someone be both? Absolutely!
Now I realize we all have heroes in our life; parents, spouses, friends, etc. but how many times have you had the chance to be a Champion and passed it up. Too many times in our professional or personal lives for that matter, either we are given the opportunity to take a chance and reach beyond the reachable or we are called upon to support or lift up a colleague and in both cases we just plain look the other way. Why? Too much trouble? Jealousy? Fear?
Being given the opportunity to be a Champion whether it’s for yourself or for others should be embraced. The world as we know it is constantly changing and we as active members of the human race need to change with it or we will most assuredly die. What are you afraid of? Whether it’s your inner competitive heart that drives you every day to reach new goals or whether it’s your compassionate heart that every day takes time out to support and encourage someone else. Marriage, friendships, you career; Do something that takes you outside of your comfort zone and look for opportunities to champion someone else’s efforts.
Who knows you might even become that someone’s hero too.
What is “Your” message and how is it being received?
Sep 18th
Sometimes I struggle with what would be of interest to someone other than me in our blog. Today it occurred to me that many times the message you are trying to convey isn’t the message being received by the recipient. What is your message and how is it being received is a critical question that we must continue to ask ourselves as professionals.
My wife has a favorite saying that she shared with me some twenty years ago and I’m not sure I fully understood it until recently. She said “Every situation is like a tennis match; how you serve the ball may not have the same effect as the person on the other side of the net. And the return may not be what you were expecting either. “A very smart person.
As business professionals are we trying to build a relationship first or do our actions lean toward getting to the finish line no matter the cost? What is your message and how is it being received? Too many times we do not stop and consider the demands being put on the time of our customers and clients. What we may being trying to accomplish with them may only be a small part of their overall responsibility. What are the demands on their time away from their profession? How many times do we take this into consideration? Too many times it’s about our needs and what we have to have happen and not what is best for the others involved.
We need to teach ourselves to number our days in order gain wisdom. Do you evaluate the outcomes of your relationships whether they are good or bad? My maternal grandmother would always say “there’s good and bad in all” when I was young. Like my wife’s advice I didn’t realized the value the first time I heard her say that. Often times it’s beneficial to look within yourself in order to improve and continuously improve the process you are offering to others.
What is “Your” message and how is it being received? What side of the net are you on?
