Hi, my name is Jim Lindell, and today I want to talk to you and raise a specific question. When are you going to get better? Supposedly Vince Lombardi would go up behind his Star Packer players and ask them during the practice, when are you going to get better? And imagine saying that to some of the champions of the world. But as you and I consider our daily lives, there are areas that I would like us to reflect on and say, what could I do differently?
How can I make an incremental change? How can I do one thing differently that will impact my business, life, and relationships? So really, six areas to think about. One, when are you going to get better in your career? Have you taken some time to think about where I am going? What's the end game?
And one of the areas that happens to a lot of us is we come out of school, start our professional careers, get married, and raise a family. And I call those the missing decades. Because what will happen is we get wrapped up in our kids' activities, all the other things about raising a family, and we go from being 25 with all these grand goals to 45, and you're shipping kids off to college or whatever they may go into. So, what will we do to understand where our career is going? Specifically, what are we going to do within our job?
And that involves both things as our professional skill sets. I mean, Chat GPT has been a gift in learning new technology for all of us, but what will we do with our people skills that are so necessary for success today? And yet many people lack better ways to have social awareness, better ways to use emotional intelligence and be more successful in the process. What are you doing about your health? Have you visited the doctor lately?
Have you looked at what your health markers are? And not just over the last year but in the previous five or ten years, which is something I'm always suggesting for our business analysis. Look, over ten years; it is easy to see what's happening to a business. And guess what? It's easy to see what physically happens to you and me when our health changes and we age.
What are you doing about that? What are you doing about spirituality? And in that case, that's up to each of us. And whether you're agnostic, you're an atheist or some other type of mainline denomination. What are you doing to understand all of that better, and what is its role in your life, your loved one's life?
I'd also think about your family. What are you doing with your most important relationships? You've heard the phrase; do we work to play or play to work? And what happens is many of us get so committed to our job, which there's nothing wrong with that commitment, that we sacrifice our family. I remember my father's company; he worked for one that transitioned through numerous buyouts, including a public company. But I remember him telling me once that his boss said, if the company sends me to Japan tomorrow, I'm on the next plane, and if my family wants to, they can follow me. And I thought that's a poor way to lead your life.
And then lastly, for fun, what are you doing for hobbies? What are you doing for recreation? How do we "recreate" ourselves? And typically, some of those hobbies help give us more value to who we are. Hobbies are essential as people move on in life and then get to that time frame of retirement. What are you doing to ensure you have something for yourself as you get to phases outside of work?
But the real message here is, what are you doing today to get better? What's the next step for you? And take some time to do it. I think you'll be immensely rewarded with it.
Meet Jim Lindell
Jim Lindell is President of Thorsten Consulting Group, providing strategic and financial consulting, professional speaking, training and executive coaching. He is a Vistage Chair and responsible for two CEO groups in the Milwaukee area. He is an Award-winning Speaker and Best-Selling Author. Contact him at 262-392-3166 or [email protected].
Jim Lindell is a National Speaker, Author, and Vistage Chair. He is motivated by helping others improve their lives and businesses.
He is President of Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc.
Order Jim's book - "Controller as Business Manager".
controller as business manager - jim lindell - thorsten consulting group
Controller as Business Manager
