Halfway through the year!
My biggest moment of the work week involved a decision which, for purposes of simplification, I'll describe as a choice between saving the company $1 million in the next year or saving $5 million. The vice president thought that going the $5 million route would be too risky, due to the risk of misleading customers. Several including me disagreed with the degree of risk. It was the strongest test of enthusiasm for the week, and I felt it pounding in my ears in the throes of the meeting. Then I was asked to cancel part of my day off to come in later that same day and share the disagreeable result with our executive. And glad to say, I was able to almost immediately take the boiling water and put it on ice. In fact, the reality that I had a few hours out of the office worked to great advantage, as I got some time to step back from the situation physically as well as mentally. $1 million is still a lot of money! What matters is not the result, but how the result was achieved. The beginning of true influence is to present alternatives objectively, rather than personally. So while I tipped into personal attachment to $5 million for a while, it always feels good to catch it timely and return to the perspective of the team rather than myself.
On Saturday, I caught it even more quickly. I was matched up on the basketball court against a more athletic opponent who took advantage of me early. Nothing like having a ball stripped from your hands a time or two to douse the ego! Even in the moment that it was happening, I recognized it as a typical emotional tinder box and smothered it. "Everything's gonna be all right." And in the end, an hour later, he was quitting for the day and I was holding my own with him with energy to spare.
We had a fantastic outing on Saturday night with our friends Scott and Lisa. First Dena and I got to dabble in Thai food at a restaurant we'd not used before, and savored the chicken-fried-rice experience. Then off to State Farm park for a round of badminton... in gale force winds that made for utter comedy. If I were trying to kill flies with a broomstick I wouldn't have whiffed as much as I did on that court. I'm sure I looked like a hyperactive contortionist with each swipe, which drew Dena into hysterics every time (always nice to discover a new way to make your spouse laugh, even without trying). A couple games of shuffleboard, then 18 holes of victorious miniature golf. Over to Culver's for turtle sundaes, then off to the movies (see previous post... at least the company was good).
My boss and employees were in good spirits all week. That always helps!
Dena got some great news. This Kiwanis statewide convention coming to town has been consuming boatloads of time, and she learned that her responsibilities going forward are much smaller than she'd thought.
Hidden Blog just passed its 1,900th career post.
Surprised and happy to say that I've read 27 books so far, a book-a-week pace made far easier thanks to the library.
It's been another relatively blissful week inspired by the halo effects of vacation, which is saying a lot amidst a life that's already incredibly blessed!
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