Ropes Course

I have this really awesome team at work that works for me that typifies the 'work hard, play hard' attitude. I will leave the ugly work details out of this blog entry. But the play hard part of our propensity brought us to a ropes course at Colorado State University on September 2, 2011.

The first thing I need to say is, being that high off the ground is a great equalizer. It just doesn't feel natural. So anyone who pushes beyond what they believe their limits may be deserves applause. Everyone on my team did just that and we all walked away from the day learning more about ourselves and our team.

The two things I personally had to muster the courage for was a leap of faith and a blindfolded walk. I did the blind fold walk first. It was 28 feet in the air. I climbed without sight and transitioned to a small platform. From there I blindly stepped off onto a telephone pole that I walked horizontally across until reaching the other side. Little did I know that the horizontal pole I was walking on tapered thinner as I walked! The leap of faith I had to climb a telephone pole that was about 16 feet high. I stood on top of it and launched myself out to catch a trapeze bar.

I am happy to say I was successful in all of my challenges and required a little more from myself than I would have imagined. That is the thing about team building. I had people on the ground encouraging me and helping me go farther than I would have on my own. I was genuinely happy for each person on my team who achieved and accomplished throughout the events of the day. Too often companies don't remember the importance to let teams achieve together outside of the workplace. My team was already a good team, now they will be even better.

I wrote this blog today only as a reminder that even during recession-like times, an investment in people can give the biggest returns. Sometimes I think we lose sight of that. September 2, 2011 was not one of those days. Not all team building has to cost money. We did a geocaching challenge in the Spring and once a quarter play a board game instead of a staff meeting, both of which cost us virtually nothing.

So what's next? Well we have talked about white water rafting, trap shooting, ghost hunting and snowshoeing. If any of that sounds like fun, get your waivers signed and do some real team building with your own teams. There is no better way to build trust in the work place than having someone hold a rope that will keep you from a 30 foot fall to the ground.

September 11, 2001

On Tuesday September 04, 2001, I was on top of the World Trade Center. I recall looking down at the Statue of Liberty and commenting to myself how small it appeared, knowing how large it is. I was staying in a hotel next door as I was traveling for business. I recall putting my back against the side of the building on its corner outside and looking up to experience vertigo, one week before the tragedy of the day we know as 9/11.

It could have been me.

I have not returned to New York since that time. Though I don't talk about it much, I don't know if I could easily visit the city again. The height at which I stood on the top floor of that building and the lasting imprint it left in my mind would make it difficult for me. I recall people joking in the lobby of the World Trade Center about bombs. I think of the security guards in the building who would be there a week later. I remember the awkward silence of the elevator ride to the top. When the silence was broken, it was with a nervousness not typical for a simple elevator ride.

My kids in school had an assignment this week which included asking my wife and I about September 11, 2001. For the first time in 10 years, I watched a video online of the tragic events that day with my children. My wife and I could barely watch it, and she left the room. My children are distanced from the tragedy of that day, while for us it remains very real. We remember what we were doing that day. My son was barely 5 months old and my wife held him in her arms while she saw the events unfold over the news. I was again traveling on business, fortunately within driving distance of our home this time. I walked down into the hotel lobby where people huddled around a television viewing the shock of the towers falling in disbelief and trying to sort out what it meant.

The fallen heroes of that day test my own grit when I consider their bravery. Would I have run into the building to save others or would I run away seeking my own safety? Would I give my own life for that of a stranger who happened to be in the World Trade Center that day - a stranger that I know not if they are good or bad? Would a cry for help be enough to motivate me to run inside a collapsing building, not knowing what other threats might still exist or even what these events all meant? Today, I honestly do not know the answer to these questions. Tomorrow, I hope to never have to answer them.

It is often repeated "Never Forget" when it comes to that day in U.S. history. Though it is not an all consuming thing for me, I don't know that I could simply forget. When I think about that day, I am haunted by how different things might have been if terrorism had selected 9/04 instead.

So this morning I ask my self one question. Am I living a life worthy of being saved by one of 9/11's fallen heroes? Because it could have been me who needed them.

Wisdom

Though I am not an expert, the word wisdom seems far less often used today. There is no shortage of the pursuits of wealth, knowledge, and love. But the pursuit of wisdom seems to be fast becoming a lost passion.

Perhaps a common definition of wisdom is in order. I did a cursory check at definitions online and most aligned to my own definition of wisdom. I believe wisdom to be the practical application of knowledge. It is an important distinction from knowledge itself in that it is more than just the acquisition of information and learning. It is the means by which that knowledge is applied in a lasting and meaningful way which defines wisdom.

Whenever I consider the pursuit of wisdom I think of leadership. The biblical reference of Solomon is perhaps the greatest example of wisdom the world has known. At the time of his ascension to the throne, God offered King Solomon one thing of whatever he would ask. Most kings would have requested power, wealth or honor. Solomon requested wisdom so that he might rightly rule the people. Solomon was given his request of wisdom in large measure. In addition, Solomon was given those things he did not ask for. King Solomon was further given power, wealth and honor greater than any king before or after his reign. For without wisdom, those other gifts would have been squandered.

It is for this reason, I don't mind the gray hairs I may display. To me, they act as a trophy that proclaim a level of wisdom only gained through experience and time. Those unable to produce a gray hair on their chin or temples should consider it an outward sign of an inward need to consider the wisdom of the more experienced.

We all float in and out of various capacities where we ourselves are leaders. If you think you have all of the answers, you don't. Instead, stand in the counsel of others. Relentlessly pursue wisdom so that you might rightly lead others. For if you expect to answer all of life's questions on your own, you will eventually fail and lead others astray. I am not saying you should fear making mistakes. For temporary failure is perhaps a path to gaining greater wisdom. I am suggesting it is blind arrogance that is a continuous path towards a lack of understanding.

On a related but side note, I learned from a National Parks Ranger who has since become an acquaintance of mine that owls aren't as wise as their reputation. Their eyes are so large and skull so small that the room available for their brain is actually very small. Therefore, pursue wisdom beyond the acquisition of it's perception, but seek to attain it as a cornerstone of your being.

"A man begins cutting his wisdom teeth the first time he bites off more than he can chew." - Herb Caen