5-7-10 A Funeral and A Wedding

I attended the funeral of a very good, long-time, friend this morning. And this evening, I attended the wedding of one of my nephews. Fortunately, it isn’t every day that one has to go through the emotional spectrum like that.

Oh wait. What was I thinking. It IS almost everyday that the executive goes through the emotional spectrum. Or at least, many days.

An example. We were negotiating a contract that had the potential to significantly increase the company’s standing within the industry, significantly diversify our customer base, and most importantly, was worth a significant amount of money --- for the next oh, 30 or so years.

I have never ridden such an emotional roller coaster -- for such an extended period of time. We would go to the customer’s site for negotiations. After the first meeting of the day, I would be convinced that we had the contract all but signed. And then a couple of hours later, I would be ready to have my team pack their bags and get on the next plane home. And then two hours after that, I would be back to hopeful. In fact, at multiple points during the negotiations, we told the customer, “this is it. We are done. No hard feelings. Maybe we can work something out on the next program”. Only to have them call us back a week later to start the whole darned thing over again.

So yeah, the executive can go through that emotional spectrum, from very high to very low, within the space of one day -- oftentimes day after day.

My point? It is up to you, as the executive and the leader, to stay on an even keel. Yes, you should celebrate the high points. And yes, you should mourn the low points. Both with restraint. You can’t show the extremes. Why? Because it is up to you to set the tone for those around you. You should be buffering your people from this roller coaster. Not completely, of course. Just from the extremes. And of course, you demonstrate your even temperament to your bosses and your peers. A temperament that will stand you in good stead as new opportunities come your way.

And yes, we won the contract.

Cheers!