Sometimes We Need to Act Like Businessmen
Friday, July 06, 2007
After work a few nights ago I went to my parent's house to eat dinner and to hang out with my family (as I often do). After dinner I sat down to talk with my Dad. These conversations often cover many topics which could include Politics, Religions, and or History but on this night the topic was Business. And I loved it (as I always do). My Dad is a great person to talk to because he has a wealth of knowledge. With four college degrees, years of working hard at a number of different jobs and many diverse business experiences he has enough stories to fill a book.
Anyway, recently in one of our conversations that we had my Dad was telling me about a tough decision he had to make that day at work. The decision itself doesn't bear being repeated here. But in refrence to that tough decision my Dad said something that completely caught my attention that "sometimes [in business] we need to act like businessmen". In other words, sometimes leaders need to be leaders.
At that moment, the clouds parted and the light started to shine on my cubicle.
This off-the-cuff quote from my Dad has kept me thinking for sometime. Sometimes we need to act like businessmen. I think we as people who are leaders (or in this case ' the businessman') we need to stand up and claim who we are to make the tough decisions for the greater good of the organization we work for (in this case the business).
Like life, business can be a tough. Sometimes business circumstances require an organization to layoff some employees so the many can continue working, sometimes the failure of one company is triumph of another and so on (these are, of course, the natural implications of a free market economy). But when a man is challenged to be a businessman he is challenged to be able to make the tough decisions for the greater good of his organization in the face of a down economy, in face of doubters within his own organization and in the face of the people pleasers who only want to make everyone happy to the detriment of the company.
I look forward to the day when we are the people (in an organization) who can stand up claim who we are and as a result be ready to make the tough decisions that no one else is ready to make.... Sometimes we need to act like businessmen, sometimes leaders need to lead.
-Mike
Anyway, recently in one of our conversations that we had my Dad was telling me about a tough decision he had to make that day at work. The decision itself doesn't bear being repeated here. But in refrence to that tough decision my Dad said something that completely caught my attention that "sometimes [in business] we need to act like businessmen". In other words, sometimes leaders need to be leaders.
At that moment, the clouds parted and the light started to shine on my cubicle.
This off-the-cuff quote from my Dad has kept me thinking for sometime. Sometimes we need to act like businessmen. I think we as people who are leaders (or in this case ' the businessman') we need to stand up and claim who we are to make the tough decisions for the greater good of the organization we work for (in this case the business).
Like life, business can be a tough. Sometimes business circumstances require an organization to layoff some employees so the many can continue working, sometimes the failure of one company is triumph of another and so on (these are, of course, the natural implications of a free market economy). But when a man is challenged to be a businessman he is challenged to be able to make the tough decisions for the greater good of his organization in the face of a down economy, in face of doubters within his own organization and in the face of the people pleasers who only want to make everyone happy to the detriment of the company.
I look forward to the day when we are the people (in an organization) who can stand up claim who we are and as a result be ready to make the tough decisions that no one else is ready to make.... Sometimes we need to act like businessmen, sometimes leaders need to lead.
-Mike
2 Comments:
I'm glad that you've had this revelation. Because if our post-apocalyptic community ever gets attacked, we'll have to do some creative warfare. And by creative, I mean unpleasant and unpopular (mustard gas and the like). I'm glad that you'll be able to look at the big picture and do what is necessary, be that allowing chemical warfare, or stopping people like me who can get too enthusiastic about brutal effectiveness.
commented by 
Idhrendur, Fri Jul 06, 06:52:00 PM
Idhrendur, Fri Jul 06, 06:52:00 PM
wow, i love this. a very striking statement. thanks for sharing it.
C
C
