A Leadership Journey

I've come to realize that I'm not quite the leader that I thought I was. I say this because I am currently a part of two very dysfunctional teams within a company that I've been with for almost 10 years & despite ongoing efforts, I can't seem to facilitate the positive change necessary to jump start this amazing microbrewery concept.

With that having been said, I AM A LEADER, and therefore I will do what every successful leader before me has done...I will press on, continue to learn, keep an open mind to fresh ideas, & collaborate with other like-minded leaders in order to find the ever elusive formula necessary to triumph over this particular challenge!

One tool that I've found to help me out with this endeavor is Patrick Lencioni's book , The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. After all, if you're not reading...you're not leading! 

Over the next several weeks, I will be attempting to put into play the valuable lessons & information that I was able to gather while reading this book.

I feel that Lencioni's model for identifying the (5) dysfunctions of most teams gets right to the core of the matter & addresses key issues that are usually hard for groups to identify themselves.

So, what's next?!?!         APPLICATION!!!

I purchased a total of nine books as Christmas gifts for the entire Brewzzi Management Team!

THE PURPOSE...To get everyone of us on the same page and functioning as a team.

THE END GOAL (THE WIN)...A management team that is dedicated towards achieving results & capable of replicating the success we encountered during this process to the teams that we ourselves lead.

I hope you will become an active participant during this journey. There are a few different ways you can do that:

1) Feel free to comment on this post & the ones to follow.

2) Read the book!!! Then share your own discoveries with me in your comments.

3) Visit me at Brewzzi Restaurant located @ CityPlace in West Palm Beach, Florida to see the results for yourself & strike up a conversation with me.

I look forward to sharing this journey with all of you!
Here's to "Making Life Happen"!!!

Priorities + Commitment = Opportunity

com·mit·ment

kəˈmitmənt/

noun

1. 1.

   the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc.

   "the company's commitment to quality"

   synonyms:

   dedication, devotion, allegiance, loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity
2. 2.

   an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action.

   "business commitments"

   synonyms:

   responsibility, obligation, duty, tie, liability;

3. 
   

Commitment is a funny word...especially when you look at how the dictionary breaks it down & spells it out according to pronunciation. All of the synonyms associated with the word appear to be positive...words that we would want to be used when describing ourselves. However, I've come to notice that in many peoples' lives & experiences, the word "commitment" has a tendency to attach negative connotation & emotion at times. The definition itself uses the phrase, "an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action". 

That recently happened to me today! I had a "commitment" to meet a friend for breakfast that I wasn't quite looking forward to due to the nature of the conversation that we were going to have. Not only was I dreading the conversation itself, but it was also restricting the amount of free time that I had with my wife, which is rare enough these days due to the nature of owning one car, as well as the industry that we work in. However, what I've come to learn about "commitment" is that it is packed full of "opportunity"!!!

op·por·tu·ni·ty

ˌäpərˈt(y)o͞onitē/

noun

1. 1.

   a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something.

   "we may see increased opportunities for export"

   synonyms:

   chance, lucky chance, favorable time/occasion/moment, time, right set of circumstances, occasion, moment, opening, option, window (of opportunity), turn, go, possibility;

I had opportunities to be dedicated to my word, devoted to a friend, & faithful to God! I had opportunities to be responsible with my actions, loyal to my wife, and to do my duty as a Christian, which is to love one another as God loves us & to preach His gospel at every given "opportunity"!

However, the biggest takeaway from my experience today has to be the importance of "priorities" and the role that they play in our lives!

pri·or·i·ty

prīˈôrətē/

noun

1. 1.

   a thing that is regarded as more important than another.

   "housework didn't figure high on her list of priorities"

While my wife will always be my highest priority here on earth, she would be the first to tell you that there is one priority that I hold higher than herself...and that is God Himself! 

The friend that I met for breakfast had been trying to set up a time for us to meet for weeks at that point. Time constraints were usually our biggest obstacle because of my profession as a restaurant manager & the holidays in South Florida are the kick-off to our busy season. However, I knew that meeting with him had to be a priority! He is still fairly new to our church & 

somewhat of a social introvert. Thankfully, God has blessed me with the gift of being exactly the opposite & has thrown in the ability to earn people's trust rather quickly. 

And that's...Your Daily Dose of Vitamin E-12

To cut straight to the point, I guess what I'm trying to say is that when you recognize the "opportunity" to make a "commitment", make sure that your "priorities" are aligned appropriately in order to assure that they will be positively beneficial for all involved.

    PRIORITIES 

+ COMMITMENT 

---------------------------

= OPPORTUNITY

CATCHING UP!!!

It's been quite some time since I did anything with this blog. As usual, life sneaks up on me and throws a curve ball or two my way & every intention I had of being consistent with this thing goes right out the window.

I'm not going to do what I've done in the past & make any promises that this year will be any different. I'm not going to make a New Year's Resolution to write in this blog consistently, because it's not going to happen, but for those of you who might possibly still be looking at this from time to time, I will say this much...I'll at least try!

So let's start with this...a few brief highlights from 2013 to catch you up on what's going on in my life over the past year:

January  - Cristina & I celebrated our (1) year anniversary together in Orlando.

February - I stepped down from the Director of Community Engagement position @ Discover Church due to time constraints & workload @ Brewzzi Restaurant.

March - Cristina & I renewed our lease @ the Palm Lake Villas for (1) more year.

April - Makenna had surgery to remove (4) large cancerous mast cell tumors. Poor pup was miserable for awhile!!!

May - Cristina's parents visited from Colombia & we got to spend lot of time with them! Good for the heart! Cristina stopped working @ Tru Bamboo due to the company closing it's doors.

June - Cristina & I attended Thadd & Jaime's wedding in Tennessee & took our first official road trip to New Orleans on the way home! It was amazing!!!

July - Cristina's 31st birthday! We also went through Financial Peace University again & are currently stuck on Baby Step #1 once more thanks to some unexpected emergencies!

August - Thanks to Rachel Smith...Cristina, Makenna, & I were able to do our first official family photo shoot! You can find the pictures on our Facebook pages.

September - What always happens in September...Fantasy Football of course!!! Sorry baby...it's my one vice. Thanks for being a trooper & trying your best to learn the game for our sake!

October - The emergence of Pumpkin Spice Coffee & Shipyard Pumpkin Head are two of our personal favorites this time of year & yes, they are worth mentioning in this blog!!!

November - Cristina & I spent a week in Vermont visiting with both sides of the family. It was great!

December - Cristina got to visit her family in Colombia for two weeks!

I'm sure I forgot a bunch, but that's ok...hope you enjoyed!