Cars and Fuel Part 4 What if there were fuel fairies? (11-30-16)

This is going to be the final entry in the current series about cars and gas stations. Over the past few weeks we’ve talked about why we need to refuel in order to avoid driving past empty, why leaders need to be able to provide gas, and the fact that gas is not just for sports cars. We’ll end this series by reflecting on a seemingly strange question. What if there was a fleet of fuel fairies who magically refilled your car for you?

The reason why I wish this was true is because getting gas is an ordeal. You have to take time out of your day to pull off the road and up next to the pump, enter your card or pre-pay, and finally you have to stand outside and pump the gas. What if it wasn’t like this? What if the gas station came to you? What if there was some magical fleet of fuel fairies who came by and consistently put fuel in your tank? Imagine being able to jump in your car and always having a tank that was near full. You’d never run out of fuel. You’d always be ready to go the distance. How cool would that be?

What does this have to do with work? I often feel that getting fuel becomes an ordeal. We force people to go to the gas station (recognition event, pm conversation, check-in, etc.) and that’s the primary time when we give them fuel. Those events become gas stations and if people aren’t at those events then they don’t have the opportunity to get fuel. It doesn’t have to be that way though. We can all be fuel fairies. We can all consistently build each other up. We can ALL take moments out of our day to send a quick message or say a kind word about why we appreciate and value everyone we work with from peers to supervisors.

So how do we become fuel fairies? You have to leverage what you have to give people fuel. I can’t give people raises, nominate them for an award, send them to some conference, etc. What I can do is show them how much I appreciate them with my words and my actions. I can always be there with some encouraging words to remind them that they make a difference. I can hug people when they need to be hugged and give them a nudge when they need a little push.

The challenge: These past few days have been rough with negative news that impacts patients and us. I know a lot of us are running a little low right now on fuel. The challenge is whether or not we can be there to help keep fuel in the tank for each other. Today I challenge you to step up and give fuel to 5 different people.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Cars and Fuel Part 3 Driving Past Empty (11-22-16)

Receiving one of these on Tuesday might rip the fabric of reality, but I’ll risk it since I’ll be on vacation tomorrow. Last week was about how we need to give gas to more than just sports cars. This week is about driving past empty. If you are a Seinfeld fan you might remember an episode where Kramer was test driving cars with a car salesman and they pushed it to the edge to see how far they could go when the gas tank said it was empty. If you want to see a clip click HERE. It’s a pretty funny moment, and I’m sure we’ve all been there driving with the gauge past E, hoping we’d make it to the gas station just a few miles away.

Have you ever run out of gas? I had a car once that had a floating gas gauge, and I ran out of gas on a busy road leading to a subdivision. No matter what I did, the car just couldn’t go any further. I couldn’t will it to go further. I couldn’t talk it into going further. It just stopped. I eventually had to ask a person in a nearby house if they had a gas can, so I could at least get a gallon in the tank to make it to a station to fill up.

How does this connect with work? Do you know the difference between the car and people when it comes to running out of fuel? A car has to stop. It quits working before it can do further damage to itself. A person doesn’t have to stop, so they can push themselves until they harm themselves. I’m not saying that pushing your limits is bad. At times running on fumes can be good as you give the final push to accomplish some great feat. However, if you are always running on fumes, always running past empty, you’re damaging yourself. You’re damaging your body, your mind, your relationships, your quality of work, etc. In a world that is quick to applaud the person who seems to always be frazzled and running on empty, I can’t help but ask if that’s really how we should live.

When I’m driving I usually get fuel when I’m somewhere between a half and a quarter of a tank. I fuel up often and before the fuel can ever get too low. How often do you fuel up your car? More importantly, how often do you fuel up yourself? I don’t know what your fuel is. It might be spending time with others, working out, reading a book, spending time with family, connecting with people at work, listening to music, playing video games, tackling projects at home, etc. I had a month a little bit ago where I ran myself too far into the ground and life was pretty crappy. Since then, I’ve pulled myself back together and made sure I set aside time to refuel.

The challenge: Are you refueling often enough? I hope you have a chance to unplug and enjoy your Thanksgiving!

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Cars and Fuel Part 2 Gas is not just for Sports Cars (11-16-16)

Last week was about gas stations without gas and how important it for leaders to provide fuel for others. This week we will continue with the gas station analogy and I’ll challenge you to consider who you are giving fuel to aka “Who are you recognizing?”

Imagine you’re on a road trip driving a 4 door sedan and you realize that you need to get some fuel. You pull into a gas station and at the other pump is an awesome looking sports car. You go to put gas in the tank, but it isn’t working. After a few minutes of fiddling around with the machine you talk to the attendant inside. The clerk tells you that the gas station only provides gas for sports cars, so that’s why it’s not working for you. What would you do? How would you feel?

By now you might be wondering what this has to do with work. During the Olympics I wrote a blog about soccer and how important it is that everyone on the team plays their role. In response to this blog, Anshu shared this thought, “We often only talk about the strikers and the goalies and less about the defensive team or the passers…” See attached blog if you have forgotten it. If we use today’s analogy, we often only talk about and recognize the sports cars instead of all of the vehicles (people) who contribute.

This leads to people wishing they were sports cars or trying to be sports cars, which creates problems. Sports cars aren’t bad. It’s just that not everyone is a sports car. Most importantly, it wouldn’t be good if everybody was a sports car. Sports cars are flashy, fun, and fast, but they can’t do everything. We need trucks to carry heavy loads. We need buses who can move loads of people. We need bulldozers who aren’t afraid to get dirty and shove mud and rocks out of the way. We need stable sedans who consistently get us where we need to go. All of these different vehicles, all of these different people are important to help us reach our end goal. All of these people deserve to be valued and recognized for their work.

The challenge: Who are you giving fuel to? Are you just recognizing sports cars?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry