Month: October 2021

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”  
Proverbs 29:18  

Ever wonder how some organizations are so good at making the impossible happen? Converting some wild idea into a viable product or service? And then from viable to wild “overnight” success?  

I was talking with an entrepreneur from the heavy civil construction industry – an amazing story of going from one bulldozer and himself to 400+ pieces of equipment and nearly 500 employees. In his words, with a charming, patriotic and somewhat emotional crack in his voice, he said, “BJ, I am the American dream.” I asked him his secret, and he said, “Hard work and good people.”  

Cliché?  Maybe.  

Wise. Absolutely!  

The entire story? Not a chance.

What I think he was missing in his humble response was “vision” and “leadership”. He didn’t want to take credit. Undoubtedly, hard work and good people deserve some of the credit, but those people wouldn’t exist if he and his leadership team didn’t paint the vision of being part of something great.

This week, we are headed to Disney World. We haven’t been as a family, so Natalie and I are excited to take the kids and experience the magic of Disney through their eyes for the first time. The magic of Disney. And while I am excited for the kids, I’m excited for me. Walt Disney is the consummate American entrepreneurial story. One man’s vision brought to life. From a mouse on a piece of paper to an animated cartoon character.  Cartoon character to world icon representing magic, happiness, fairytales and family fun. A vivid vision brought to life by an entire team of professionals to brainstorm, plan, design, create and build park after park. 

But first, they had to see it to believe it.

Believe in him. Believe in themselves. Believe in the possibility.

Do you think he had doubters? Naysayers? Haters? Not to mention the practicality of financial viability!? There are many stories about financial troubles while building Disneyland, so if the banks didn’t believe in him, how did his team? My guess is that it had to do with storytelling. Walt Disney was a master of making the unbelievable come to life through words and pictures. In historic video documentaries and biographies, you can see Walt as a master storyteller. He makes you escape the reality of what is and takes you to a place that is yet to be.  

Stories take you to a place that doesn’t yet exist. From music and movies to books and bedtime tales, stories are a powerful tool. They can inspire, or they can divide. They can build up, or they can tear down. They can forgive an old enemy, or they can create a new one. Stories can teach us lessons of love and lessons of history. And yes, stories can even help us build our teams and implement our projects. Stories help us inspire emotion in people, and people who believe they can accomplish something often do.

Ideas are easy. Implementation is everything. Many public projects get stuck because of institutional inertia – bureaucracy, politics, etc. What they require is an internal champion, an agency entrepreneur as we refer to them, to help get the ball rolling. We partner with agency entrepreneurs to take the vision, articulate the story, and then take the ball up the hill. We help agencies accomplish the impossible because, after all, Walt Disney is right, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”  

BJ Kraemer, President

“Leadership is all about people. It is not about organizations. It is not about plans. It is not about strategies. It is all about people-motivating people to get the job done. You have to be people-centered.” 
-Colin Powell

So there I was…
 
A freshly promoted first lieutenant responsible for the lives of 26 men in my platoon, we conducted route clearance patrols (IED hunting) up and down various highways, secondary streets and rural market streets throughout central Baghdad in 2005. Our mission was essentially the same day in and day out – temporarily securing routes for follow-on missions. However, the focus would vary from ensuring clearance for logistics coming in and out of Baghdad along main supply routes to deploying teams of snipers into overwatch positions on IED heavy intersections. We also gave clearance and reconnaissance force minutes before a Navy Seal team attacked a suspected high-value target in a rural neighborhood in Baghdad.  
 
The missions that scare you the most are in the middle of the night. You can’t see as well, it’s a little colder, a little more uncomfortable and somehow, we are a little more susceptible to blowing our fears out of proportion – the childlike thoughts of monsters under our bed or in our closet can take hold. Every time I would (or I could sense our platoon would) start to feel this way, I would say over the radio, “Everything will be better in the morning, boys.” And it was. My favorite memories of Baghdad are us rolling back into the gate of our FOB after a night-long mission and seeing the sunrise.  
 
To this day, when I wake up in the middle of the night with racing thoughts of to-do lists or not done lists, business worries or family concerns, I say to myself, “It ain’t as bad as you think. Everything will be better in the morning.”
 
My parents probably told me this truism as a kid, but I first heard it as a “leader” from Colin Powell. My dad gave me Colin Powell’s 13 Rules For Leaders when I went to West Point. So, in honor of the General’s passing, I wanted to highlight his straightforward but nonetheless sage advice to leaders:
 
1. It ain’t as bad as you think! It will look better in the morning. 
2. Get mad, then get over it.
3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
4. It can be done.
5. Be careful what you choose. You may get it. 
6. Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision. 
7. You can’t make someone else’s choices. You shouldn’t let someone else make yours. 
8. Check small things.
9. Share credit.
10. Remain calm. Be kind.
11. Have a vision. Be demanding. 
12. Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers.
13. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier. Colin Powell’s career of public service is a strong reminder and model of perseverance, principles and public ownership of leadership decisions.  

Rest in Peace, sir. 

BJ Kraemer, President