What a painful blog to write and CeCe will be all over this after she reads it. I had just launched my boat into some rough water as three guys watched from the boat ramp. “You going out in this rough water?” they asked. “Yes, I’m going to the north end to wade so I won’t have to deal with the wind and the boat.” Turning the boat into the wind, hitting those first two big waves, my ego got the best of me. I grabbed my Ole Miss cap and swung it around like a cowboy riding a bucking bull, clearly showing out for the guys on the bank.
What was that? Oh no….no no no!
My Costa sunglasses hit my hand as they flew through the air and landed in the choppy waves. What an idiot! How could I be so cavalier? What makes this even worse is just last week, after a long day on the water, I wiped my forehead with a towel, forgetting that my favorite Costas were sitting there. They landed face down on the concrete, breaking both lenses. So in about five days, I have lost both pair of my best sunglasses and all because of being careless and forgetful.
Despite my embarrassment, pain and expense of these life lessons, we can learn from my mistakes as leaders and in our businesses.
How often are we being too cavalier about a client relationship or a personal relationship? Have we ever thought or said, “Oh, they need us/me.” “Don’t worry, they will not make any decisions without our advice,” or “They will not go anywhere else for service — they trust us.”
It’s easy to fool ourselves about our closest relationships. Just as scary is how easy it is to forget about connecting and keeping our relationships strong. We forget to make that touch to see how things are going.
What important relationship have we forgotten to be intentional or, even worse, taken for granted? Right after I work on my own self-awareness on this question, I’m headed to Bass Pro to get another pair of sunglasses. CeCe, I promise I will not take these for granted!
