Being Prepared

I recently received a call from a cilent who told me about a presentation he gave at a university. The client went to a local university to make a presentation on having a career in a specific discipline within the accounting industry. After my friend completed his talk, he asked for questions. One student responded immediately and began to ask questions, not just questions but very well prepared questions. The student had clearly invested specific time researching the company and was well versed not only in the speaker's company but also the specific industry the company was engaged in as well. The questions went on for more than thirty minutes while many of the other students in the room just sat and listened to the exchange. The student so impressed the speaker with his in depth knowledge of the company and the industry as well as his specific area of expertise that the speaker decided to hire him. 

This is yet another example that you can turn an opportunity to meet someone or speak with a person in leadership into an opportunity to join the company. It takes determination, planning, time and hard work to prepare for the opportunity to engage the speaker. If done properly and thoroughly you can end up with a job offer. I can't encourage you strongly enough to be prepared for each and every opportunity to engage company leaders and show them what you know. Always keeping in mind that companies hire people to solve the company's problem that they don't have the internal resources to solve. If you can solve this problem for them, chances are they will solve yours by giving you an opportunity to join them. 

Pay it Forward: Living a life of service.

Today I spoke to a classroom of university students about careers. I shared a lot of information with them about what life is like in the real world, the world that instantly arrives the day you get your degree. I started off by telling them the news that none of us want to hear, that the expensive education they have invested in and the hard work they have committed to, well frankly, "it's not about you. It is always about the customer and the employer. I explained that they are training themselves to serve others." I began to explain to the students the value of living a life of service has.

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"Keep your word even when it hurts."

According to the Forbes 400, Jon Huntsman Sr. is the 47^th richest man in the world. He got that rich by hard work and living a life of integrity. Jon started the world’s largest privately held chemical company from scratch. He is the inventor of the plastic eating utensils and Styrofoam food containers.

Huntsman has faced many tests of his integrity but the one that really impressed me was when he did a handshake deal to sell part of one of his companies to Great Lakes Chemical for $54 million dollars. By the time the deal closed the value of his company had appreciated to more than $250 million. Great Lakes waited for Huntsman to come back to them and renegotiate the deal but he never did.

Jon Huntsman shook hands at $54 million and that was his price. He said he never questioned his decision because his word is his bond. He made most of his money after he sold that part of the company to Great Lakes. 

"Establish standing stones in your life."

In the Old Testament, at the time when the people of Israel were traveling through the desert, many important events took place. When they experienced an event that marked their lives in some important way they would erect stones to mark that spot as a reminder of what took place there. If you watched the film Schindler’s list, at the end of the film, the survivors of the Holocaust and their descendents of the survivors filed past piled Oskar Schindler’s tomb. As they walked by each person placed a stone on top of his tomb. Each stone represented a person that was alive that day because of what Oskar Schindler had done several decades before. Those stones are called standing stones.

Perhaps you’ve heard the question “what does that stand for?” That term refers to standing stones. 

When I speak of having standing stones in your life, I am talking about guiding principles that are non negotiable. These are the principles that we choose not to violate regardless of the cost or reward.

The late Edgar Prince, founder of the Prince Corporation now part of Johnson Controls is a man that lived his life by standing stones. I had the honor of knowing Ed. I leased office space in one of his buildings in downtown Holland and when I would see Ed he always had a few minutes to chat.

After Ed passed away his son-in-law Denny Ellens told me a story about when Ed first started Prince Machine.

The company received a large order for die cast machines from one of the big three auto manufacturers. It was one of the largest if not the largest order they had ever received.

When the purchasing person came to the office to sign the contract he pulled out a big cigar and started to light it. Ed stopped him and him he couldn’t smoke in the office. 

The man told Ed that anytime he signed a contact this big he always smoked a cigar. Ed invited him to smoke it outside. The man became very angry and reminded Ed he had the power to take the contract back.

Now I don’t now about you but at this point most people would have reverted back to the customer is always right rule and gotten the guy an ashtray. Not Ed. He told the man that the company had a no smoking policy and that rule applied to him too which made him all the angrier.

Ed explained to the man that when Prince Machine was formed the original handful of people, salaried and hourly got together and set down some rules that were not negotiable.

An example would be:

Never work on Sunday,

No smoking in the building.

Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain.

Don’t curse or disrespect others.

Always do the best job for the customer.

Always keep your word.

Under promise and over deliver.

Ed told the man “If I let you smoke in here none of those guys is ever going to trust my word again. If they don’t trust me to be honest with them why should they be honest with me or the customer?

Then the entire process breaks down and the machines Prince produces for the customer won’t be the quality they are today.

Ed refused to go back on his word even if it meant losing the contract.

The guy signed the contract and left without smoking the cigar. He later sent Ed a letter of apology.

Like Ed Prince in this example, I encourage you to establish standing stones in your lives and live by guiding principles that are not negotiable. 

"ONE SOLITARY LIFE"

Several years ago my wife purchased a box of Christmas cards. I am generally not much of a card person but I appreciate it when someone sends me one, especially my wife or daughter. While my wife was addressing the cards I picked one up and read it. It was entitled "One Solitary Life" and the author was anonymous but the message profound. It reads as follows: "Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village, where he worked in a carpenter’s shop until he was thirty. Then for three years he was an itinerant preacher.

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