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In my daily reading, I came across this excellent quote from Peter Drucker:

Effective leaders delegate a good many things; they have to or they drown in trivia. But they do not delegate the one thing that only they can do with excellence, the one thing that will make a difference, the one thing that will set standards, the one thing they want to be remembered for. They do it.
— Peter F. Drucker, “Your Leadership Is Unique,” Christianity Today.com

Drucker is a guy I’d like to read more on, both biographical and what he’s written in the areas of management and leadership. I know his life and writings have carried significant impact in the way corporate America views management and leadership practices.

The quote made me consider: What is the one thing I do best?

Not what is the one thing I do best in all arenas, but in a given arena, what is the one thing I do best? In the corporate world? In ministry? In my family?

Am I pouring my energy into what I do best in each arena? Or am I living under the tyranny of the urgent? Today feels like I’m a slave to whatever is most urgent, but I think recognizing my need to prioritize and focus my energy is a step in the right direction.

I felt the baby kick today as I had my hand on my wife’s stomach. It was quite a sensation to know that I’m feeling the result of my kid moving in the womb. We’re only a little over four months away and I’m already quite excited to see this little kid come into the real world. We have another ultrasound appointment next week that my mom and mother-in-law will attend with Kristen and I. It should verify the sex of the baby - though we’re pretty sure it’s a boy - and we’ll get to see more of the baby’s details as well. I’m definitely looking forward to that day!

My brother Brian married Bailey Brennan last weekend. I had the privilege of standing with him as a groomsman, and am so happy for him as he enters this new phase of life.

The ceremony was beautiful, and I think everyone had a wonderful time. The day was gorgeous, and Brian and Bailey seemed thrilled all day long.

I’ve finally pulled some pictures together from the day. Enjoy!

Bailey and Brian at the altar

Bailey and Brian at the altar

Mr. and Mrs. Brian Pruett

Bailey and Kevin (Father of the Bride) share their special dance

Bailey, Brian, Kristen, and I

Brian and Bailey, the Happy Couple

Bubbles!

Brian and Bailey Drive off into the Sunset

It seems like there are some areas in life where I have to keep evaluating and improving to stay sharp. I can set great goals and priorities, and cruise along for quite a while feeling very efficient and productive. Then one day I wake up and realize my good habits are slowly beginning to erode and are in need of refreshing. I realize this principle probably applies to many areas of life. Without regular, diligent self-evaluation, how will we know when we begin to let areas slide?

Time Management is an area I’ve had to really watch the past several weeks. I’ve always wrestled with using my time wisely, but I realize as my life begins to fill with new commitments and activities I have to revisit this discipline more frequently and make sure I stay on track.

The five principles presented in Dr. Wetmore’s article are five mistakes people make when managing their time. I’ve made each of them many times, but they are also very easy to avoid. It just takes a little discipline and commitment to change.

Top Five Time Management Mistakes

1. Start the day without a plan of action
2. Get out of balance in your life
3. Work with a messy desk area
4. Don’t get enough sleep
5. Don’t take a lunch break

So before I continue the day, I’m going to map out a plan of action, look at ways I can be a little more balanced in life, and clean up my desk. But not until after lunch!

Well I was at Costco today and saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and couldn’t pass it up. I’ve read the previous five in the series and loved them, so I have high hopes for this one too. I’m only in the middle of about six books right now, so this will be a good incentive to wrap up a couple of them to “earn” the chance to read HP6.

As Enron was collapsing in the fall of 2001, the Boston Globe published an article by a Harvard classmate of Enron CEO Jeff Skilling. The author described how Skilling would argue in class that the role of the business leader was to take advantage of loopholes in regulations and push beyond the laws wherever he could to make money. As Skilling saw the world, it was the job of the regulators to try and catch him. Sound familiar? Twenty-five years later, Skilling’s philosophy caught up with him, as he led his company into bankruptcy.
–from Authentic Leadership by Bill George

As I read this story about Mr. Skilling, I was struck by how common this attitude can be. I’ve seen first hand the trap that success can bring: first you exploit the grey areas to bring continued success; then you expand the grey areas; finally you decide very few issues can be truly “black and white.”

I’ve also been fortunate to have several role models in my life who have consistently modeled excellence in this area. They seem to make every issue black and white - which makes the decisions easy, but the follow-through may not be painless.

When I check my own attitude when dealing with regulations, taxes, and laws in general, I like to ask questions like the following:

• Do I knowingly choose convenience over compliance if I won’t get caught?
• Do I purposely remain ignorant about the law so that I can claim ignorance if I violate it?
• Do I live my life in pursuit of living up to the spirit of the law or do I look for gaps in the letter of the law?

I think if I’m honest, I have fallen short on each of these questions at some point in my life. That said, I know that today I’m more cognizant of my attitude in these matters than I was several years ago. I can see significant growth in this area, but I do not want to loose my edge. As with so many aspects of Leadership, I need to always evaluate the example I set by the life I live and compare it to the values I claim to embrace.

Today begins Week Two of my career at Lockheed Martin. I’m still learning where everything is, what everyone does, and a lot of new names to go with the many faces I encounter each day. Everyone seems very nice, and I think I’ll enjoy being part of this team.

I was able to contribute a couple of ideas last week that seem to have helped on some projects. Hopefully this week will be even more successful. I look forward to becoming a key part of our team.

I came across this picture of Dwayne Wade blocking the shot of Ben Wallace in a playoff game this year, and was just in awe. Realize that Dwayne Wade plays point guard - typically the shortest player on the team, and Ben Wallace plays center - typically the tallest player on the team (though Ben is undersized for his position). Regardless of their physical differences, plays like this have made me hop on the D-Wade bandwagon with reckless abandon. The kid can flat play ball!

Dwayne Wade blocks Ben Wallace’s shot

I have to sign up for health insurance this week, and as my buddy Ly was lamenting the high rates, it made me wonder what could be done to solve the high premiums we have to pay?

The problem isn’t the health system, though - at least it isn’t the only problem. A large part of why premiums have gone up is because of legitimate and not-so-legitimate lawsuits. Insurance companies have to raise rates so that they have enough cash on hand to pay out when someone dumps hot coffee in their lap and sues McDonald’s for not telling her it was “hot.”

Or my favorite is kids suing a company because the cigarettes they sell killed their parents. I’m pretty sure if you have half a brain these days you can figure out that cigarettes cause cancer - smokers accept the risk and believe that they can beat the odds. When they lose that gamble, their kids get rich? Why does the company, who warned the consumer of the risks, take a beating?

Now don’t get me wrong, there are legitimate lawsuits, and I wouldn’t want to lose our ability to sue to right a wrong, but there needs to be some kind of limits placed - perhaps on the punitive damages? I don’t know the solution, but I do know we’ve got a problem.

One solution that’s doomed to fail, however, is global healthcare. Look at Canada and Switzerland. Sure they have their healthcare provided as part of the taxes they pay to their governments, but the quality of care is not even close to what we’d consider “acceptable” much less excellent. And the Swiss are paying something like 50% of their income in taxes to support this?

As flawed as our system is, I think I’ll keep it. Hopefully we can get some limits on lawyers bringing frivolous cases to court - maybe they should pay the bills for the court and court staff if they lose? That would make thing interesting…

I start my first day at Lockheed Martin at 8:00 a.m. this morning. I’ll be working for them as a Software Engineer, and though I’m a bit sad to leave my former position with Predator Systems, I realize this is a great opportunity, and a good company to begin creating a history with.

Here’s to new beginnings!