People who seem to always land on their feet

I sat down to watch my favorite team, the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night. And within the first few minutes I saw #8 Anders Eriksson make two hideously brutal defensive plays that would be a reason for a bantam or midget player to be benched - never mind an NHL veteran. A bad night, maybe? It would have been hard to convince me having watched Eriksson for a few years with one of his six NHL teams. But I sat down last night to watch a portion of the Flames game and once again, Eriksson got caught twice in ten minutes making a bone-head play! And it got me thinking, how does this guy stay in the NHL? After 5 NHL teams and three European teams, why did Calgary get rid of Roman Hamrlik (or a couple other defenceman) and pick up Eriksson? Yet this guy just seems to get more ice time and has never been a consistent player on any team?

I also can think of a few people I've met in my work life who are nice people and yet no matter how bad things get at their workplace, they are never the ones laid off. In fact, they are often promoted. Most of the person's fellow employees seem to wonder how s/he will survive the "latest cuts" and yet somehow, some way, the person always "lands on his/her feet."

I fear this may sound like sour grapes - that somehow I recently got a bad deal in some way and this I my chance to vent. Yet nothing could be further from the truth... I have no axe to grind and the Lord has always provided for me every step of the way, even in difficult, frustrating, or challenging circumstances (read previous blogs about the year 2007 if you are still suspicious!)

Yet in terms of Life and Leadership... this seems to be an interesting phenomenon. First, how do these individuals have people around them who really do not appreciate or trust them and yet are never honest enough to tell them? They think these people are their friends and yet no one is kind enough to tell them how they are really perceived.

Secondly, how do leaders in an organization not notice that a person is barely competent in multiple areas and yet never help the person or deal with the concerns? I am all in favor of helping a person find their strengths and moving them within a company so that they can excel and have a satisfying work/life. And I realize that some individuals can really put on an impressive front and fool some people for a while. But the individuals in my mind are people who've worked in multiple positions in an organization for 1-3 years, and then get moved up or over and then are not really a fit in that position either, and so get moved up and over a couple years later and so on and so on...

And "leaders" just keep rewarding mediocrity while also sucking the life out of their faithful, diligent, competent, people who are working extra hard to accomplish the mission of the organization. I think I'll call this the "Eriksson Effect."

Eight is Great!

January 5 is always a day I am used to celebrating a great woman in my life... you see January 5 is my mother's birthday (and actually my maternal grandmother's birthday also). However, this January 5 I celebrate Eight Great months of being married to the most amazing and beautiful woman in the world!

They say that "behind every great man is a great woman." I have two comments on this quote. First, I can think of many wonderful women who have had a significant influence on my life, including my mother and my wife, as well as my mother-in-law, Dr Char Bates, and a few others. Secondly, what is the woman doing behind the man? If, as the quote implies, the woman is the reason for the man's success (another interesting question), then why is she not beside the man! So as of today, I'm modifying this quote: Beside every great man is (at least) a great woman! Better yet, "Around every great man are great women!"

On another topic, I've been working through Oren Harari's book The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell - which I purchased through Amazon.ca a few months ago. Though I don't know much about the US military dynamics or politics, I've admired Colin Powell. It is a very challenging book and leads me to appreciate Powell's character and accomplishments more.

Happy New Year 2008

Just wanting to wish all those who check in on my blog a very Happy New Year and all God's best to you for 2008! Thanks for reading my blog and I hope you'll keep in touch over the year!