No Excuses Leadership

Second Nature

I was raised by a full-blooded Italian mother among a large family of many aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents.  You know the wedding scene in the movie The Godfather?  Imagine that, just a tad smaller. From weddings to graduations and birthdays to funerals, the family was and is at the core of every aspect of my life. They mean everything to me.  People comment that our institutes and leadership academies feel more like family reunions than workshops.  That’s probably because my brother is on stage introducing me, my mom and sister are working the store, and my wife, kids, nieces and nephews are given tasks to make sure every event goes off without a hitch.  None of this is by accident.  Our business success is the result of 15 years of a commitment to doing right by the students we serve.  Our family’s success is the result of a lifetime of loyalty to one another.  All of this comes across as being second nature, but it’s not. It takes a ton of trust, commitment,  and  . . . candor to get where we are today.

My family has shown me that the most important conversations we have with each other are often the most uncomfortable too.  I'll be honest, there have been times when the challenging words provided by a loved one have left me frustrated and even angry.  But over time, each conversation has made us all stronger and more loving towards each other for this one reason:  The people who care about you the most, are also the people most willing to be upfront and candid with you.  

TAKE ACTION

Candor is the ultimate form of caring in our personal and professional lives.  Make a promise to your colleagues to always be candid with them, but more importantly, make them promise they will always be candid with you. When you do this every day, the whole process will become second nature.

BE BOLD

"We become what we want to be, by consistently being what we want to become each day."
- Richard Scott -