Colonel Candid

Please, give me permission to speak up. During a roundtable meeting, I’m pushed to the back row. You’re covering a topic adjacent to an area that I’ve spent my entire career studying. Unfortunately, I was given instructions to sit here and take notes. If I could speak up, I’d give you ample feedback on why this program may not work or give you an alternative viewpoint. I see people constantly editing their thoughts here. It makes it incredibly difficult to tiptoe around the landmines of issues in the organization. I wish I could ask you questions because I think we could expand on your goal. The extra five minutes on the topic could have shown you, the decision maker, what a gift this cost saving option really is and why just investing one more attempt at it would pay off. If we could all contribution to the discussion and downplay the loud squeakiest wheel in the room, you’d see unrecognized potential. We want to add value. The jokes from attendees about the need for youn...

Despite what Joan Jett says, you should give a damned about your bad reputation. What people associate when your name is said is important. One of my first mentors, who really left an impression on me, told me your reputation matter above all else. As I work to mentor you, this is one of the first topics I need to share and emphasize its truth. Harken back to the old spaghetti westerns, I feel like I should paint a picture of an old grizzled, pencil thin cowboy saying, “your name is the most important thing you’ve got partner.” Seeing how I’m from the homestead of John Wayne, it’s fitting. But really, why does this matter? It matters because as you grow from an intern, to new recruit, to employee, to supervisor, what you’ve demonstrated before will boost you up or weigh you down. How you establish this reputation is demonstrated by your deeds and not your words. Think about people you hold in high regard, what have they done to earn this? Their actions spoke louder than their wo...