Young Leaders

Young Leaders

The Family Business had grown. It grew from one operation to five. The family business had grown from a quick drive from the breakfast table to a plane ride, car rental and overnight in express hotel. The plants away from the breakfast table were all in small rural Middle American towns. We had young plant managers.

We talked to Senior Leaders, we talked to experience plant managers, we asked ourselves what do you wish you knew 10 years ago; 10 years ago when you had your first plant.

They said:

Find a young Leader and mentor them — That’s Family Business.

1. Judge every person on how they do the job, not their height, religion, race, sexual orientation or faith-only on how they do their job.
2. Stop worrying about your job — use the energy to do your job.
3. Expect more, from yourself, from your Team-raise the bar.
4. Be a good follower — as long as it’s moral, ethical
5. Get some people on your Team
6. Say Thanks and Mean it
7. Start every day with a smile and energy
8. Take Care of what’s important, your health, your Family and your Faith.
9. Find your muse, your joy that thing that makes it all worthwhile.
10. Share your life lessons and develop people.

These ideas are not perfect but share a common theme. Success comes in many forms and from many directions. Often it does not come easily and all the obstacles and distractions thrown in our direction will do their best to stop us from acting on our dream and achieving the success we want.

Kipling, British Soldier and Poet wrote on Success:

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Find a young Leader and mentor them — That’s Family Business.