What is Success?
I quickly thumbed through my notes. “Lord, speaking of success, how do you define success? I guess it is based on hard work and some luck. I like a success quote from Stephen King, ‘Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.’”
“Sam, that is good, I like a success quote from Albert Einstein: ‘If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.’”
The Lord pointed to an autographed picture of the Lord and Albert Einstein riding bikes on a screen. “I am a big fan of his, Sam. We have a blast discussing string theory and other topics.”
The Lord kept looking at the picture as he continued. “Those who help others are the biggest success stories. They know their actions have allowed others to be successful. That is why the highest level of charity is not giving someone money anonymously (which is still great), but rather giving them a job. When an employer or manager helps an employee learn a new skill and expand their “toolkit,” they are helping the employee become more successful, which makes the business and manager more successful. One supports the other. That is why I never understand managers who don’t invest in their employees. Those managers who do not invest in training are hoping to be successful, while those who incorporate such training in their employees earn success.”
The Lord looked out of his window again. I assumed he got his inspiration from looking outside, but the view was not that great. In fact, most CEOs’ offices would put the Lord’s to shame.
“I have a bigger office, son—the world—but why put me and you into an ostentatious environment. I met Moses at a burning bush in the middle of the desert. I met most of my profits in nondescript locations. It provides me an opportunity to think and observe them without any fanfare.”
“Speaking of Moses, he was originally not a successful leader because he could not be everywhere nor solve every problem. It was when he brought aboard his crew that he really became successful. Fathers-in-law get a bad rap, but Jethro was a great father-in-law who gave Moses valuable advice to set up a management structure. Moses gave them authority in a public manner, gave them the right skills and authority and then let them do their job. That is success, Sam.”
I was thinking about my own boss. He assumed I had the ability and skills to do my job, but he never asked me what I wanted to learn or who I wanted to become. I always thought I had the potential and skills to be an editor- but was never asked. I would have loved for him to have taken me under his wings to learn the art of being an editor.
“Sam, you also must ask. Waiting for something to change doesn’t work. You have to grab the bull by the horns and be assertive.”
“I know, Lord, but shouldn’t my boss know my worth?”
“Sam, should Moses have known what skills he had or what assistance he needed? It would be great if every boss could read every employee’s mind, but that is not how the world works. You need to make sure the boss knows what you want. Bosses can ask, but if they don’t, employees should feel comfortable sharing their vision and aspirations. If a workplace can foster such an atmosphere, it would be much more inviting and successful.”
“Isn’t making a lot of money success?”
The Lord gave me a stern look. “’Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped.’ Do you know who said that, Sam? It was President Calvin Coolidge. I have known way too many men and women who felt they owned a lot of property. What happened was often their property owned them. In Ethics of Our Fathers, it is written that the more possessions you have the more worry you have (Pirke Avot 2:7) People should think of fame and fortune like salt-water. When someone is stranded in the ocean, they feel that they are wealthy because they have so much water. However, the water once drunk makes them thirstier and the more they drink the thirstier they become until they expire. What is that saying popular today, yes, the one who dies with the most toys wins. The key is having what you need and doing good with the rest. That is success.”
“So Lavan would be an excellent example of one who was so fixed on collecting the most toys that he was actually not a success?” I responded.
“Your research is paying off Sam. When one is so focused on winning, they often lose the value of true success. Think about it like a great football team. There are some who have won by doing everything right- like Vince Lombardi teams. He has a great flag football team in heaven. Others win by pushing the rules or breaking them. They are both successful, but the desire to win another trophy could cloud a coach’s judgement to the point where only the win matters and the means to the end is not as relevant. Heck, if that is the case why not be like Nimrod and just kill the competition. If one has a compulsion to win at all costs, why should laws or breaking commandments get in the way of success?”
“I want a level playing field and that is what everyone deserves. Those who only want to follow some laws and ignore others that hinder their ability to make it big have a big surprise waiting for them when I judge them. I have a special place for them. It is hot down there. I keep score Sam. I am taking down names and know what everyone is doing. Those who make it up to Heaven sometimes have done bad things but are saved by asking for true forgiveness. There is always time to repent and even some of the biggest bad boys in history have made it up here by changing their tune and righting a wrong.”
I thought to myself if the Lord wasn’t that happy with today’s businesses that might violate the law or hurt people in the name of progress or profit, I wondered what would he say about today’s managers?
“Lord, what do you think of today’s executives?”
“I love them. An executive, no matter what we call them, needs to provide a system where employees can talk with one another and freely exchange ideas. They also need to help promote and secure essential resources. Lastly, they have to define purpose and direction. This entails making tough decisions and being strong in the face of opposition.”
“Does that mean you think there are too many “Yes” men and women in the workplace?”
“Sam that reminds me of a great quote from Warren Buffet- ‘Of one thing be certain: if a CEO is enthused about a particularly foolish acquisition, both his internal staff and outside advisors will come up with whatever projections are needed to justify his stance. Only in fairy tales are emperors told they are naked.’ I would love managers to be honest with themselves and others, but political correctness in the office, or other games played in the office, often discourage managers from doing the right thing. I would love to embolden all managers to speak and act on their conscious. I really feel it is better for executives to say less and do more.”
The screens once again showed images relevance to what the Lord was talking about. It was a quote- ‘action rather than just empty words’ and the quote appeared on every screen.
“Sam, a lot of talk with no action has very little value. What if a manager can do the right thing and they do not act on order to look tough? That really gets my goat. A manager needs to be sensitive to all. Yes, there are some employees who deserve more based on their work and results. But that does not mean that weaker employees should not also have the manager’s time and attention. Remember the 80/20 rule- 80% of a manager’s time is spent with the 20% of employees who are constantly causing problems.”
I was hoping the Lord would not have a picture of the holiday party because I had too much to drink, and I did not even remember the incident with Sarah.
“Sam, keeping your sense focused is how you can spot the little things that make all the difference. But returning to the answer, I feel for executives who have problem employees. This teaches patience and having a great heart. Like fish in the sea where big fish swallow little fish. The same holds true for people. If it wasn’t for good leaders and managers, the “mighty” people would swallow the smaller people. Leaders serve as the buffer to protect the weak, but also need to spend equal time with all the other fish who need help, guidance, and protection. A successful leader knows this balance and helps the strong and the weak with the appropriate guidance each needs. A successful leader doesn’t tolerate harm by others when workplace bullies try to manipulate and harm others on their way to the supposed top. Remember the end game Sam, while a bully might have some little success here and there, they will have a hard time earning my love and trust. I know what they have done, and it really gets me upset.”
The Lord was showing his anger. I would not want to get onto his bad side. But this was another example of the Lord using finger quotes and I was starting to get the trends of multiple videos and various types of quotes- whether from a celebrity or the Lord’s own air quotes. The Lord was a great teacher, and he was using his entire multi-media repertoire.
I looked at my pre-meeting notes and my chicken scratched notes from the actual meeting. I had already written around 40 pages in my notebook-even without trying to take any more notes and had not really scratched the surfaces. I looked at my pre-meeting notes, but I was resigned to go with my gut.
“Lord, I guess to summarize this point, businesses are good…or have the potential to be good by doing the right thing. By doing the right thing both businesses and managers can earn the trust of others and you. There is no single “right thing” but protecting the weak is a very good start and providing employees with tools is also a major point to help employees grow similar to trees. That is how we can define success.”
That was a mouthful for me.
“Sam, you’re getting it. That is the simple low hanging fruit of our discussion. It is easy to tell your readers they should do good and that the Lord is watching them. It is much harder for managers and businesses to actually do good on a regular basis, day-in-day-out with all the pressures of trying to pay bills, make deadlines, secure contracts, and numerous other challenges. No one said it is easy doing good- just like Kermit the Frog says it is not easy being green. Kermit was successful because he tried to make things easy for everyone to understand. Business success is defined as doing the right things that benefit the greatest number of people possible in an ethical and honest manner.”
