Profiles in Passion: Act Locally, Think Globally

Most everyone’s bucket list includes some aspect of world travel. For Brad Bodenhausen, Executive Vice President, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, a Rotary International  trip to Sweden was the catalyst for career opportunities he had never before considered. Brad is responsible for spearheading the international program at the Chamber in addition to his regular VP duties.

After just three years working at the Chamber, Brad was approached by his boss, President Jim Anderson, about a Rotary group study exchange program to Sweden. “It was a life-changing experience,” says Brad. “I spent five weeks in Sweden with a group of four others from neighboring Rotary clubs serving as ambassadors for our state.”

“The experience offered connections to people that I have kept in touch with over the years and sparked my interest in the international field. I’ve followed that path ever since with my masters degree program, with Rotary and professionally with the Chamber,” explains Brad.

Since  the time of his first overseas trip with the exchange, the Chamber began considering ways to help its community with global connectivity. It wanted to offer new opportunities and resources for businesses already doing business worldwide and to expand the resources for those interested in a global market. In 2004, the Chamber launched its international program and three years later, organized the International Business Council, a panel of 60  of internationally-minded businesspersons.

“There are many more companies in Springfield doing international business than those currently involved in the program,” explains Brad. “We’re always looking for more businesses to participate. We put together programs highlighting things going on in the world, and keep our Chamber members abreast of current international trends and business opportunities.”

Brad feels strongly about international connections and sharing those connections with organizations that otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to make them on their own. “My most fulfilling contribution is to understand people in other cultures for who they are, and to take the opportunity to share the true Midwest as it is, dispelling preconceived notions others may have.”

Though it’s grown to something much more, Brad still attributes his international career opportunities to his first overseas trip. The Rotary Group Study Exchange is always in search of young professionals whose employers would support their international professional development. The program offers professionals an opportunity to learn about their vocation as it is practiced in other parts of the world.

“Jim encouraged me and gave me the opportunity 14 years ago to gain an international perspective,” expressed Brad. “What’s neat is years later, I’ve been able to do the same for another co-worker (Emily Denniston)within our organization. These days we’re so interconnected. The opportunity to learn from other cultures and countries is huge.”

What Are You Willing to Die For ? – A Salute to Our Soldiers

The life of a soldier is an interesting one. They voluntarily give up their own life for a cause or purpose that is much larger than themselves. After signing on, new recruits are sent to basic training.  They are pushed beyond any reasonable bounds and systematically broken down so that they can be rebuilt into effective soldiers. To be an effective soldier one must be willing to put others, their unit, and ultimately their country in front of self-interest.

Why do we have such respect for soldiers? Because they're willing to die for a worthy cause.  As humans we give our highest respect to those who have died for something of lasting value. Physical life is not the ultimate; a life of meaning and purpose is. If you are searching for happiness you will not find it apart from a worthy cause -your own calling something that you are willing to die on a hill for. I tell people all the time in my coaching practice that there's nothing wrong with dying on a hill you just want to make sure it's your hill not somebody else's.

In one of the top selling books of 2006, Success Built to Last-Creating a Life that Matters, resoundingly confirms this notion.  The book researches the lives of people that we as humans consider to be the most successful. People like Nelson Mandela and Mother Theresa. Their extensive research concludes what we already intuitively know.  People who live their lives built around a compelling cause or purpose are the healthiest, happiest, and most respected people on the face of the earth.

The story of dying for a worthy cause is not a new one. Irrespective of your personal beliefs and feelings about Him, no one has had a greater impact on civilization than a small town carpenter named Jesus. The Scripture tells us that he willingly laid down his life so that others might live. He was totally plugged into his God-given purpose and calling. I am personally thankful that he was willing to die on a hill for me and the rest of humanity.

I would ask you, have you identified your own cause worth dying for?

Are You Spamming Yourself?

I recently found a message from myself in my spam folder?  It had never occurred to me that I could spam myself.  I then stopped and asked myself how else might I be spamming myself?  What kind of preprogrammed garbage have I allowed to be stored on my mental hard drive? 

Some words are so apropos.  When I was growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, spam was this slimy meat like stuff in can.  I can eat almost anything but spam is not one of them.  Today spam is that flood of unwanted, slimy stuff that someone else wants to dump on us.  What kind of mental spam do you have running around in your head that doesn’t need to be there?

Spam, in and of itself, is not necessarily bad. What make it bad is that it is not something you want.  Someone else is arbitrarily imposing their agenda on you.   If you haven’t clearly defined your own agenda you will by default have little choice but to accept someone else’s agenda for you.  The best defense against head spam is to get clear about who you are at your core and then align your conduct or behavior with that identity.  

Profiles in Passion: October 2010, Judge Jason Brown

The small things we do impact the lives and future of generations to come. Jason Brown recognized this from a young age. Growing up with a father who treated everyone, regardless of background and social standing, with the same fairness led Jason to aspire for the same. Jason Brown has been an associate circuit judge for the 31st Judicial Circuit since 2006.

Though it wasn’t apparent at first he wanted to pursue a life in law, Judge Brown always knew he had a passion for listening. “I often found myself in a position where people found it easy to talk to me, to open up and ask for my take on their issues,” he says. “I had a sense I would be involved in assessing peoples’ interactions. Deciding what is right and fair could have landed me as a counselor, judge, or another walk of life where I would offer feedback.”

Another walk of life wasn’t in the cards for Judge Brown. He attended law school after college. He knew a legal background would give him opportunities he otherwise wouldn’t have. When he began doing trial training, his interest and passion was seeded.

He practiced for 16 years as an attorney where he witnessed on various occasions victims being treated unfairly or without respect. With the encouragement of peers, Judge Brown took the risk of losing his practice and ran for election. This is a risk many lawyers who would otherwise make great judges opt not to take. The risks outweighed the benefits and he was elected to the bench in 2006.

His impact in the Greene County community is substantial. “I can’t say I’m changing the world, but hopefully I’m contributing to society by giving people faith that civil and criminal cases are handled fairly, that people can come in and have a fair hearing where their rights will be enforced and crimes punished.”

Daily headaches come and go, but Judge Brown enjoys the opportunities being a judge present. The best part of living his passion as a judge is feeling a daily sense of accomplishment. Even though there are always people who will question decisions, Judge Brown hopes people understand and respect his decisions whether they agree or not. He firmly believes in deciding on facts and law, not for artificial reasons like status or relationships.

Judge Brown encourages others to share their professional goals so that they, too, can feel a sense of accomplishment within their lives. “If it’s something you consider a goal and think about often, let others know. When there is an opening, people will think of you first as a possible solution to their need.”

Judge Brown he hopes his lasting legacy is that of a fair judge:  someone who listened, treated people with respect they deserved, and gave everyone fair shake and equal opportunity.

We find these truths self-evident

This line from the Declaration of Independence is one of the most powerful ever penned.

Truth, real truth, can stand on its own. It needs no defense.

People have an innate ability to ferret out truth. Like cream on fresh milk, truth has a way of naturally coming to the top. If you give people enough space and room they will consistently spot truth and do the right thing.

I frequently talk to business owners who don't think their employees will make the right decision if they don't make it for them. Let me frame this in another light, in the United States legal system we literally make life-and-death decisions based on the ability of 12 random people to ferret out truth and make a quality decision. While it's not perfect, the system is highly accurate and effective.

If you give employees the opportunity to ferret out truth, do you really think they won’t make the right decision? Of course they will, and if they don't, and it is their decision, they will more than likely do everything they can to make it work. Isn’t that what you really want from your people -- for them to be all in emotionally and mentally?

A highly committed and fully engaged workforce with a good idea will outperform an apathetic team with a great idea virtually every time.

So let’s revisit the idea that your people might make a bad decision.
If they are fully vested in the process of making the decision and they have to live with the results, they will be the first ones to tell you they made a mistake. Without being told, they will regroup and move in the right direction.

Why?

Because people tend to take responsibility for what they own.
We tend to not take responsibility for things we don’t own. If your people are not taking responsibility, I can almost guarantee you they don’t own what is going on in your business.

Let me give you a quick example.
I live on the east side of Springfield. While I may be intrigued by crime stories in Kansas City or St Louis, they are of little concern to me. When I start hearing about crime in Springfield, then I become concerned. When the crime happens in my neighborhood, I am alarmed. When the crime happens at my house, I am outraged. In this process I have moved from passive spectator to fully engaged participant. Everything changes when it involves what I personally own.

If you want your employees to be more responsible, let them completely own both the decision making process and the results. And remember, it is hard to argue with the truth.

Profiles in Passion: September, 2010 -- Don Harkey

“Watching people being successful is powerful,” says Don Harkey.

In his experience, though, Don has seen professionals from entry level to industry experts fail miserably. Their lack of success is a direct result of them not living their passion. “It has everything to do with being empowered with what you’re doing,” says Don. Over time, he has recognized the patterns behind people’s satisfaction levels and seen the difference in people and organizations when people like what they do.

Don owns Galt Consulting and is living his passion as a strategic planning and process improvement business consultant. “I don’t know how to articulate the incredible feeling of freedom in living my passion. I’m not waiting for the 5 o’clock whistle to blow so I can go home where I can be myself,” he explains. “I’m always doing what I like to do.”

He began his career as an engineer and has a background in chemical engineering.  There, he saw teams not aligned in their goals, not working together. At that point, he knew that his true calling was something deeper than engineering alone.

For Don, like most entrepreneurs, breaking away is a scary thing to do. An engineer at heart, Don calculated the risks and moved forward, decrease his engineering work as he increased the amount of consulting he did. He now has six years experience consulting, the last three of which he has worked full-time. “At some point, you have to jump in and take the cold water – take the shock.”

The biggest challenge for Don was doing all aspects of the job on his own, from marketing and client development to accounting and financials. At his first attempt at his logo, he spent 50 hours creating it. “I’m not an artist,” says Don, who learned his lesson. “Pay someone else who knows how to do the things you aren’t good at. I could have used that time developing clients and making new contacts.”

As a consultant, Don works directly with organizations, often saving them hundreds of thousands of dollars a year through helping them find direction and focus. He unveils answers to problems within the company and workforce and has generated a great many testimonials to his productivity in passion.

For instance, Don worked with an organization to find areas of improvement. Through his calculations, he found they were losing 50k a year from production waste. The operator developed a plan to eliminate the waste once Don showed him how much it cost.  He cut the waste in half in two weeks and eliminated it altogether within three months saving the company $50,000 per year. 

The company not only saved a bundle of money, but the operator confided in Don that he was so unhappy with his job prior to this experience he was planning on leaving. Since then, he has independently developed improvement projects throughout the organization and been promoted from his entry level position to supervisor.

Don has helped numerous businesses such as this, but his passion goes beyond financial restraints. One of Don’s goals is to be financially free enough to assist new businesses. Often, start-ups are the ones trying to find their footing but are passionate about their goals. One of Don’s favorite quotes embraces this entrepreneurial spirit:  “Destiny exists when a person knows what they can be and no one else suspects it,” Bob Dillan.

Through the entire process, truly feels he is living his passion. “I’ve always thought of hobbies as what you do outside work, but that doesn’t change much for me. When I have free time in the evenings, I am doing the same thing I’d be doing during the day. It doesn’t change. Not a workaholic, but I enjoy what I do enough to enjoy it always.”

Are you Wealthy?

I recently heard Dr Gay Hendricks give a new definition of wealthy that caught my attention. He said, “A person is wealthy when they have all that they want and want all that they have.” What an interesting definition of wealth. So how does a healthy person have all that they want? Isn’t drive and ambition a natural part of being truly healthy? I would definitely say yes. In fact if there was no drive, ambition or need for achievement, I would say something is missing.
In my mind what it really comes down to is the person comfortable with themselves and are they pro-actively engaged in their own personal journey. That state of being is critical if we are going to be truly wealthy. It is not dependent on what you have. It is based on who you are and how congruent your own conduct and behavior is with that person.
I've also heard it expressed like this: Be; Do; Have. Start with being who you are and then out of that being, do what you need to do, and ultimately you will have everything you need to have. Then, what you have will be more than enough.
Unfortunately many of us have been working off a formula something like this: Do > Have > Be. If I do enough, I will eventually have enough, and then I will be somebody. Many of our traditional thoughts about wealth revolve around the idea of accumulating things. If I can accumulate enough stuff, cars, houses, money, trophies, degrees, friends, etc, then I will be somebody-I will finally be happy with myself.
The truth of the matter is that none of those things can really make you happy with yourself. In fact, the more reliant you become on external sources to make you happy, the less happy you normally become. All that stuff you're accumulating eventually becomes a millstone around your neck. In the words of Dr. Hendricks, “you end up not wanting what you have.”
Are you beginning to see the insanity of living a life based on Do; Have; Be?
Let me frame this for you one more way. Our traditional view of success goes something like this:

Me + Something = Happiness/Success

Our new model for success and happiness looks like this:

Me + nothing = Happiness/Success

If you're looking for something to come along outside of yourself to make you happy, you are headed for ongoing disappointment and despair. We don't control anything outside of ourselves. But we do have control over ourselves. True happiness comes from within. Start seeing yourself as successful and happy in the present and you will be well on your way to ongoing success and happiness. Success is a journey not a destination.