Worked 67 hours in a week;
Worked more from Monday til Saturday;
Have not finished a book since last post;
Have watched the Olympics every night;
Had cousins here from Kentucky;
Drove all the way to Rock Springs, Wyoming to pick up my stranded aunt, only to sit for 3 hours until she got there, and follow her home. (It was an interesting wait. We ate at Wendy's, and wandered around Walmart for a few hours. I love watching people. One guy bought 4 LARGE jars of pickles!!)
So, I've been pretty busy. But I have read some, but just haven't finished any books. I've read parts of 21 irrefutable laws of leadership, which is good. I think the author, John C. Maxwell, takes leadership to an extreme. He uses the McDonald brothers as an example of failed leadership. (the McDonald brothers founded McDonald's, one of the biggest fast food restaurants in the world.) He says that McDonald's didn't really take off until it started to franchise stores to other locations, which the founding brothers had previously refused to do. He says that they didn't see the potential opportunity that was there for them to take advantage of.
I don't think that is failed leadership at all. I think that perhaps to pass judgement on someone else is wrong. It is especially wrong when looking back at an event. If you had something happen to you, you could judge yourself. To say that someone isn't a good at something, or they have bad personal traits, because of missed opportunities would be amiss. It isn't bad that we do wrong, or limit our potential, or don't take advantage of every opportunity. It is impossible to take full advantage of EVERY opportunity.
Other than that example, I think it was a good book. Plenty of ideas of how we can become leaders. I think everyone is a leader. At work since reading that book I've been watching to see how the true leaders are. The author says that leadership is key in the work place, as every job seems to have a manager. They are the person who by default, or title, seem to be the leader. In many jobs, the true leader is not the manager.
So at Comfort Inn, we have the manager of the hotel and the housekeeping manager. The manager, Paul, is a good guy. But he sometimes comes in a little late, or he doesn't order something that we are out of. Erica, the housekeeping manager, however, is the person everyone that I've noticed comes to for advice on something. She seems like she always knows what to do. I rarely ask Paul for something, I ask Erica.
Why is this? I believe it is because a leader has to be innovative. Many times, innovation can be viewed as potentially dangerous to the established order of things. The people at the top, or corporate level, want to make money. Sometimes things cost money. If you don't have, it's hard to spend it. The managers want to keep things running smoothly as possible, even if there is little long term benefit.
At Artic Circle, Launa is the manager, and the person everyone comes to with questions. The night crew superviser, Kendall, is another leader. His wife, JoJo, is also a supervisor. They frequently work nights together. When I work nights when they are there, I always ask Kendall questions. Even thought he says JoJo is the manager. I like JoJo, but I view Kendall as a better leader.
I also bought a book yesterday called Night by Elie Wiesel. He is a survivor of the Holocaust and the book is his story of how he survived. Good book. Rather graphic. But I believe he had to describe events graphically so he could get his points across. Better than The Diary of Anne Frank, or the Hiding Place. Everyone should read it!
Watching the Olympics has been cool. It's only on every 4 years, so it's nice to view things. NBC shows a lot of swimming and gymnastics nightly. Pretty incredible what the athletes can do. It makes me feel incredibly lazy sitting them do their events. I need to exercise more, and will. Thank you Olympics, you have inspired me.
