Month: May 2021

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”-Michael Jordan

My youngest daughter turned 2 on Wednesday. Time flies, and looking back at pictures and videos over the last year, we watched as she went from crawling to walking. Falling and falling and falling. Getting back up and trying again and again and again.  
 
You have probably heard educators talk about how everyone has different learning styles. Some people learn visually, others learn verbally by listening, and others physically by doing. Some people like to learn socially in a group, and others need to focus and learn in solitary. But, I think the best way for all of us to learn is by FALLING and FAILING.
 
Falling and failure are so natural, yet we convince ourselves “not to risk it” and to “play it safe.” It leads to stagnation. Personally and professionally. 
 
So with graduation season upon us, I leave you with Denzel Washington’s words to the 2011 University of Pennsylvania graduating class, “If you don’t fail, you’re not even trying.”  
 
Check out the entire speech here.  
 
As my high school swim coach used to tell us, “You have to get comfortable being uncomfortable.”

BJ Kraemer, President

“There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.”
-Ronald Reagan

“Be Good! Do Good!” When we were younger, my Dad would leave for work or drop us off at school with that message. It is one of those Dad-isms that stuck with me. Engrained in my mind for all eternity…
 
Be Good:  “Be a good person. Be good to others. Don’t get in trouble.”
 
Do Good:  “Do well in school. Work hard. Help other people. Do what you are supposed to!” 
 
Short but powerful and meaningful – like any great “ism.” The bottom line? Be a good person and do your best.  
 
Do your best. As we got older, “do your best” was translated to the more brash phrase my Dad (or maybe the military?) coined…we will call it the G.A.S. factor – which stands for “Give A Sh*t.” The G.A.S. Factor is used to describe how much we (or someone) cared about what we are doing. Taking pride in a job well done. Being a loyal team member that cared more about the team, the company, the organization’s success than our own. It’s both a leadership lesson in servant leadership – caring more about others than ourselves is also a work ethic lesson – showing up isn’t enough. You have to be focused on really caring about the task at hand and doing your best. Not caring about who gets the credit, but as John Wooden says, “Knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.”
 
At MCFA, we have translated the G.A.S. Factor into our Core Value – Extreme Ownership. We stole the phrase from Jocko Willink’s book by the same title. Both the bottom line is the same – care about what is in front of you. Take ownership of a client or colleague’s project/problem like it’s your own and take personal responsibility for figuring out the solution. Most importantly, ask for help and/or self-report if a project/client/contract is off-track. Because Teamwork is another Core Value, but the team can’t help if we don’t know about the problem.
 
If you identify with these and our other core values, we should talk. Whether it’s to solve your problem or partner on a project or career opportunity, we find that everyone has more fun when our core values are aligned. Life is too short to be working with people and organizations that aren’t aligned.   
 
Don’t forget, “Be Good! Do good!“

BJ Kraemer, President