Bridging the gap between the crystal palace (cooperate office) and the field

One of the harder things to do as a company grows is to maintain those key relationships between the corporate office and the field.  As the company grows larger and larger, it is harder to keep those vital relationships and communication flow open.  Communication is the key to a successful business. 

Let’s focus on communication. When the top of the business opens their doors then the field personnel, (The ones actually doing to work) know that they come to upper management with their concerns.  This opens the door to so much more.  Before long, the employees are coming to you with new ideas to help make the business more successful.  The people on the ground are the ones that see the shortfalls of production, where the most unsafe behaviors happen, and why those happen.  They are also the ones who are looking for processes and procedures that they can implement that will save them time and energy.  Take a few moments and head out of the office and into the field, or production floor to see what your people are going through.  Take a few moments weekly and have a genuine conversation with them.  you’ll be surprised how far this small action will get you.

In the corporate setting, we don’t always realize that when we bust out a new company rule, or even a best practice how much extra work we are putting the people at the ground level.  Really, they don’t have an option or say in the new guideline either.  Before you publish something new and write in to “company law” take a few moments to open that line of communication back up with the field and ask what their thoughts are.  If you haven’t implemented the step before this then you most likely see them agree to the new procedure, but their agreement be reluctant.  By making yourself open to their ideas, they will be more willing to share them with you.  Therefore your processes will be even better than before because now you have the whole company working together to improve the processes instead of a small team. 

Don’t forget the small things.  As I have been working with many companies over my career, there is one thing that seems to get lost or forgotten about.  Remember the small things.  Take time to make a note in your calendar of when their birthday is and if you have established a close enough relationship with them note their anniversary, work, and marriage.  You don’t need to remind them of how old they are just a simple gesture of acknowledging those dates, and maybe a small gift.  Corporate swag is always good for birthdays and a gift certificate for dinner is great for anniversaries. It shows that you not only care about them but also their family. 

You and your teams’ actions and attitudes say everything.  Think about when you were just starting out and working on the ground floor.  What did you think about upper management?  Di you think that they felt they were better than everyone else was or were they friendly and open?  Coach your corporate team to know the only reason they still have a job is because of the people who aren’t afraid to get dirty and get the job done.  So many times, I have been invited into a company to help them improve their relationship with the field and right away notice that the majority of their corporate employees “KNOW” that they are better they person in the field. With an attitude like that, they aren’t opening the door, shoot they have the door closed and all the furniture in the office piled up against it.  Everyone has to be on a level playing field.

If you’re in a leadership position for any organization try these few key items to help bridge the gap:

1.       As a corporate employee make yourself available to field.

2.       Open lines of communication with every level of the company and make everyone feel as though they have a say in decisions that affect them directly

3.       Listen when employees talk.  Take to heart what they are truly saying

4.       Don’t make company policies until you have had a communication session with the company

5.       Don’t forget the small things.  Remember birthdays and special events in your employees lives.

6.       Corporates' attitude can make or break the relationship at any time.  If your team has a negative attitude then so will the other teams.

Every problem or issue is an opportunity dressed in ugly clothing. Bridging the gap between the corporate office and the field isn’t really all that hard, but it will take time and a lot of effort on the corporate employees. 

Humble Negotiation is the key to success

We all know the negation is part of everyday life. We get to negotiate when we ask for a raise. We get the opportunity when we are being hired. How about every day negotiating where to get gas, or coffee or even lunch. I even negotiate with my wife. Well honey if I cook, will you wash dishes? Negotiating is something we do every day. The key is to make sure every negotiation is humble.

As I mentioned we started negotiating at a very young age, we might not realize that we were negotiating but we were definitely going it.  I’ll eat my greens if I can have a piece of candy after dinner. Alternatively, my personal favorite was mom I’ll feed the cat if you clean out their litter box. (I did not win that one very often, but when I did, boy was it sweet.)  We have all seen the child throwing a fit in public attempting to get their way.  Do they win? Not very often, in our house that never worked. Shoot one time  I walked away from the child for a minute then come back and look directly at them and said, “who are your parents?” the kid looked back up at me and started laughing. Me on the other hand, I was not impressed.  There were also times where one of my children would come up to me and say, “dad I washed all of the dishes, is there a possibility we could watch a movie, and stay up a little late?”  They were negotiating with humility; I was much more likely to meet then in the middle when they did this. 

How do you handle your negotiations at work? Do you yet upset when you don’t get your way? What about when you are asking for a raise or days off? I have even had to negotiate to get my voice heard.  Heck there were times that I had to negotiate with operations to get them to follow federal regulations.  Here are a few tips to help your negotiations stay humble and improve your chances of striking a deal.

1.       Don’t get angry.  Getting angry is a sure fire way to loose every time. It shows that you don’t have control over your emotions. I’ve heard it said that it shows passion. NO WAY! It shows weakness, it shows that you cant handle yourself let alone what you asking for. 

2.       Brainstorm different scenarios before you go into the meeting.  Take a few minutes and think about different possibilities. Think about where the conversation might go questions that might be asked, statements that might be made.

3.       Look at the deal from their point of view. This ties directly into number 2 take a few moments and think about what you’re asking from the other side. Let’s say it’s a raise.  If they have had to lay off several employees in the company there is a good chance that there truly isn’t any funds to spread out right now. If it is a promotion, maybe there are others that more or equally qualified for the position. No matter what you are, negotiating through look at it from their point to see if it’s a good deal, or of the deal is one sided.

4.       Don’t get in a hurry to get an answer. Negations take time, rushing one will sure not end in your favor. So many times sales people use the buy now technique they use your sense of this deal won’t last, to get you to make an impulse buy. Learn when it’s being done to you and also NEVER use that technique.  You might get the answer you want today, but it won’t be the answer you need tomorrow. 

5.       Be honest.  You have to be honest with yourself as well as the other party. Be honest as to what you really want. Be honest as to what you are willing to risk and do in order to make the deal. 

6.       Don’t make false statements to get your way. Look at the liberals that publicly announced that they would leave the country if Trump were elected to president.  They thought they would convince people across the nation that if they didn’t get their way then we would never see their face on the movie screen again. I’m pretty sure that one of them has moved to Canada yet. 

7.       Don’t be afraid to re-negotiate.  Things change, it’s ok to circle back and make changes. 

8.       Start small. So often, we start too big, asking for too much thinking that we can go smaller.  Have you ever tried starting small and then asking for a little more until we have reached the ultimate outcome?

There are many people who are expert negotiators in this big ole world. I definitely don’t claim to be one of those people. What I can say is that I learn from everyone.  Abraham was a great and humble negotiator; he is one of the only people to walk this earth to actually negotiate with God.  In Genesis 18:22-33 Abraham negotiated with God to allow the righteous people to leave the cities of Sodom and Gomora before he destroyed them. Below I have included the scripture of his negotiation.  I ask that you read it with the intent to learn better negotiation skills. 

Next time you start to negotiate something with anyone, take a few moments and think about how you like to be treated if you were on the other end of the negotiation.  Also, think about how you might maneuver the conversation to be heard without becoming arrogant or angry.  There is always a way to get what you need.  Lastly remember that if you don’t negotiate, you don’t have opportunity to learn, and if the negotiation fails, there is always next time. 

“The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.  Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”  The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”  Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?” “If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”  Once again, he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”  Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?” He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”  Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?” He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”  Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”  When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.”

Hazmat vs Placarding??

First of all, let’s identify how the Department of Transportation (DOT) defines Hazardous Materials or Hazmat.

.. DOT defines a hazardous material as any item or chemical which, when being transported or moved in commerce, is a risk to public safety or the environment, and is regulated as such under its Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration regulations (49 CFR 100-199)..

Any item or chemical that is a risk to public safety or environment pretty well sums up what hazmat could potentially be. In the world of D.O.T., they break down any item or chemical into 9 different categories or hazard classes.

1.     Explosives

2.    Gases

3.    Flammable and Combustible Liquids

4.   Flammable Solids

5.    Oxidizing Substances, Organic Peroxides

6.    Toxic Substances and infectious Substances

7.    Radioactive Materials

8.    Corrosives

9.    Miscellaneous Hazardous Materials

After looking at this list of hazard classes, questions can potentially arise about what types of materials that would fit some of these categories. Some common questions that come from various transporters are related to Flammable Solids, and items that could be considered under the Miscellaneous Hazardous Materials. An example of flammable solids would be defined by DOT as follows:

a.      Solids which may cause a fire through friction, such as matches.

b.     Pyrophoric (literally, "fire-loving") materials, those that can ignite with no external ignition source within five minutes after coming in contact with air.

c.      Self-heating materials, those that exhibit spontaneous ignition or heat themselves to a temperature of 200 deg.C (392 deg.F) during a 24-hour test period. (This behavior is called spontaneous combustion)

d.     Dangerous when wet materials, those that react with water to become spontaneously flammable or to give off flammable gas or toxic gas at a rate greater than 1 liter per kilogram of the material, per hour.

One flammable solid that always comes to our minds is magnesium which if in the right conditions like getting wet with water, can cause all kinds of fireworks.

As far as the Miscellaneous Hazardous Materials found in class 9, DOT defines those as follows:

Class 9 hazardous materials are miscellaneous hazardous materials. That is, they are materials that present a hazard during transportation, but they do not meet the definition of any other hazard class.

Class 9 hazmat includes:

• Materials transported by air that could cause extreme annoyance to a flight crew member to the extent that it prevents the crew from performing its duties;

• Hazardous wastes;

• Hazardous substances;

• Marine pollutants; and

• Materials that meet the definition in the hazardous materials regulations (HMRs) for an elevated temperature material.

x

When transporting various hazardous waste streams from their generators to the final disposal, many times class 9 was used for items such as Ethylene Glycol (spent automotive anti-freeze).

Now that we completely dumped a ton of information regarding what a hazardous material is, another frequently asked question that we receive is what all hazardous materials or waste needs to have placards, how often should we use them, and how many do I need to put on my loads. DOT offers some basic regulations regarding placarding.

When the aggregate gross weight of all hazardous materials in non-bulk packages covered in Table 2 is less than 454 kg (1,001 lbs), no placard is required on a transport vehicle or freight container when transported by highway or rail [§172.504(c)].

Non-bulk packages are considered to be portable containers like drums, totes, boxes, crates etc. A bulk package would be complete tankers, rail tanks or vessels. General rule for differences between the two; bulk and non-bulk, bulk containers are built into the unit transporting them, whereas non-bulk containers can be moved from unit to unit by hand, lift trucks or cranes.

IDENTIFICATION NUMBER MARKINGS ON ORANGE PANELS OR APPROPRIATE PLACARDS MUST BE DISPLAYED ON: (1) Tank Cars, Cargo Tanks, Portable Tanks, and other Bulk Packaging; (2) Transport vehicles or freight containers containing 4,000 kg (8,820 lbs) in non-bulk packages of only a single hazardous material having the same proper shipping name and identification number loaded at one facility and transport vehicle contains no other material, hazardous or otherwise; and (3) transport vehicles or freight containers containing 1,000 kg (2,205 lbs) of non-bulk packages of materials poisonous by inhalation in Hazard Zone A or B. See §§172.301(a)(3), 172.313(c), 172.326, 172.328,172.330, and 172.331.

To clarify, anything meeting this large shipment requirement not only requires the placard but also an Identification number as shown below.

Like this example if I was transporting drums of hydrochloric acid I would just need to placard my load and label each container with the Corrosive Class 8 Placard and label. But, If I was transporting a major cargo tank full of hydrochloric acid, I would need to use the Corrosive Class 8 placard and label with 1789 ID number.

When placarding a transport truck, bus, trailer, tanker, and placards need to be visible on all four sides of the unit and placards need to be at least 9.84”on all sides. Sticker labels need to be at least 3.9” on all sides.

Again, we just touched on just a few basic items regarding hazmat and placarding but we are excited to give any guidance regarding placarding or hazardous materials. Please feel free to contact us to help make your life easier.

                                                                                            

Working through the work

As a young entrepreneur, I tend to work a lot.  I mean a lot.  I have been working through this and have a few tips that might help you not work soo much. 

Hustle is one of the most common words used in entrepreneurship today.  “Hustle and grind until you make it big.” “Keep the hustle and you are sure to succeed.” I agree that hustling through seasons is necessary, especially at the initial onset of a new company. It’s not what makes a company thrive.  Morals are what really makes a company thrive.

Know your support system.  We all have a support system whether it’s our spouse, parents, girl or boy friend, kids, friend, dog, fish, whatever, we all have a support system.  Lean on them.  They will help you to realize when you are working too much and need to slow down.  Learn to read the signs they are giving and listen to those signs. 

Numbers aren’t everything.  I’m a huge number guy so when it comes down to it, I love thinking in numbers.  1000 clients at $100 monthly = $100,000 monthly income.  I didn’t say I liked complicated numbers. Lol.  I have stopped letting that drive me though.  I don’t worry as much about the numbers as I do how happy I am and how happy my employees are. 

Try to get stuff done early.  Scheduling is a hard part of every business owner or entrepreneur life.  Use a calendar app that your whole family can see.  If you are having issues fitting in personal time, schedule it.  Before long, it will come natural and you will no longer have to schedule it. Date nights are crucial to bringing your best to the table all the time.  It can even be a date by yourself reading a book or binging your favorite shows.  Personally, my favorite shows are either MASH or that 70’s show. 

Outsource the things you don’t like.  If you are sitting there saying, “how can I pay someone to do something when I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself”.  Let me be the first to tell you that out sourcing the things you don’t enjoy doing will open up your life to more freedom.  Not to mention you are helping another business owner get his or her business up and going.  Don’t be afraid to let go of a few of those items, then sit back and watch your creative juices start to flow again. 

Get up earlier and go to bed earlier.  We are all designed differently but for me I enjoy getting up earlier than the rest of my family.  Heading to the home office and busting out an hour or so of work before my family ever even think about getting out of bed.  Then when they wake up, I get to greet my kids and possibly even make them breakfast before they head off to school.  I have found that first thing in the morning about 15 min after I wake up is when I have the best ideas.  I mean the best ideas.  Don’t start by waking up an hour early tomorrow though you’ll just be bogged down all day. Start by waking up 15 min earlier every week until you are getting up when you want to. 

Eat right.  I’m not super healthy, but I do believe that we all need to eat good food in order to push through those hard times.  If our body is struggling to digest the food we are eating then we are devoting energy there when we could be utilizing that energy for our projects.  All too often, I find myself grabbing lunch in town, and it’s not a good lunch.  I feel like Remy off the movie Ratatouille, the dad says, “Food is fuel, get picky about what you put in the tank and you won’t have any fuel.” I’m the exact opposite.  An old jalopy can run on junk fuel, but I want to run like a Ferrari so I need good fuel to maintain. 

Make time for God.  It sounds crazy, but I’m telling you that by adding 15 min of devotional time every day your schedule will be opened up.  How will adding something to my schedule free up time.  God works in mysterious ways.  I have found that when I take 15 min of my day to read the bible and pray, my day is less stressful.  When I don’t make time for it, I seem to run myself into the ground.  Take time every day for the one who created us. 

I definitely don’t have it all figured out, and I am sure that I will continue to fail at times.  You see here’s the thing, if you don’t fail, you can’t learn.  If you fail and don’t learn, stop everything right now because you are going to make the same mistakes again and soon.  

Age is all in how you look at it.

Thinking back to when I was young, maybe 5.  I thought that my brother was old even though he was only 4 years older than I was.  My parents were really old, even though they were both in their mid-thirties.  My grandparents were ancient and my great grandparents were almost extinct. 

When I was 12 years old, I applied to be a volunteer at our local fire department.  The chief looked me up and down and said, “So you think you can help us out around here?”  I confidently said without a doubt in my mind, “You bet I can!” I was the youngest member of their JR firefighter crew.  That chief took a chance by letting me join the department a full 2 years before he let anyone else.  I learned a lot during my years on the department and stayed active for quite a while.  The thing that I liked most about being there, attending the trainings, going out and working the fires, was that on this department, everyone was glad to have help.  It didn’t matter what you were doing they were glad you were there.  I didn’t realize it at the time but I was learning how to appreciate everyone.  I also learned that those “old guys” could out work me every day.  It kept me humble in respect of age.

Later at the age of 18, I applied for a job as the manager at a rental car facility.  The hiring manager read my resume and immediately called me in for the interview.  When I arrived, she kind of looked me up and down and said, “Your resume made you seem much older, sorry but I just CAN’T hire someone so young.”  I walked away a little dejected but knew that God had bigger plans for me.  After the interview she swallowed her pride and told me to come back in a few years, she would love to hire me but corporate would not allow her to, I was too young. They allowed their corporate mentality make the call for what society claims to be an acceptable age for leadership over rule their first impression. 

This continued throughout my 20’s.  Finally, I was hired on with an exceptional company.  They immediately put me into a leadership role and I excelled.  They asked me to move up and we accepted the position.  Again, through God’s grace I was able to excel.  Then our company was bought out.  The new upper leadership loved my style and the way I communicated.  Even though I was younger, they still pushed me to excel.  Then all of a sudden, our department changed leadership.  The new leadership went back to the “old school” thinking, you have to have a college degree and be a certain age before you can attain manager status.  I was never allowed to advance after that and eventually ended up starting Eclipse DOT and went to work for myself.

If you’ve made it this far through the blog you are probably thinking that’s great, he just told me about how he was discriminated against for age several times.  We all have stories that are similar to mine.  The reason I’m writing this is so that we can step forward and make a change.  As we move into leadership roles don’t overlook the younger candidate as a great potential in your company or organization.  Also, don’t overlook the older person just because you believe that their ideals might not align with yours.  Take every person as someone who can and will get the job done.  Don’t look at the color of their hair, or how young they look.

As people, we have the opportunity every day to look in the mirror and see exactly what we want to see.  If you see someone too old or too young, then you are either of those.  If you see the right person for the job, then you are the RIGHT person.  Don’t get into your own head and disqualify yourself from the opportunity.  It doesn’t matter if you are the youngest or the oldest person in the program.  Own that. Be proud that you accomplished it and know that you can accomplish anything that you set your mind to.

I’m a relativity young guy in my perspective, in my grandparent’s eyes I'm still kid and, in my kids, eyes I’m OLD.  It’s all about perspective.  If you think you are too old for the job then you are, if you think that you are too young to get that leadership role, then you are.  Don’t let your mind be what stops you from applying yourself, don’t let your age be the determining factor for anything that you might be considering.  Go out there and be strong, own your age because it is all in your head anyways.

The facts about DQ files

We have been getting tons of questions on drive files so we thought we would take a moment and explain exactly what you need and how long you need to keep it.  The federal government did a great job when they wrote the regulations for Commercial Motor Vehicles (CMV’s). We are going to make it super clear.

Here’s what you need in every driver file:

  ü  Driver application 391.21

o   See the notes below

  ü  Annual Driver Review 391.25(a)

o   Must be completed within first year

o   Completed annually

o   Keep the original

o   Last 3 years

  ü  Certificate of Violations

o   Must be completed within first year

o   Completed annually

o   Keep the original

o   Last 3 years

  ü  Driver License

o   Keep original

o   Last 3 years

  ü  Medical Card

o   The National registry number needs to be verified and documented

§  https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/national-registry-certified-medical-examiners-search

o   Keep original

o   Last 3 years

  ü  Motor Vehicle Report

o   Must be pulled within 30 days of employment

o   Pulled Annually

o   Also must be pulled within 15 days of medical card being renewed

o   Keep original

o   Last 3 years

  ü  Previous Employment verification (last 3 years)

o   Best practice is to pull for every employer for last 3 years even if they marked non DOT position

  ü  Road Test

o   CDL can be used as road test except when

§  Required when employee will be operating tankers

§  Required when employee will be operating doubles or triples

o   All NON CDL drivers must have a road test

  ü  Entry Level Driver Training

o   Required for all drivers that come to your company with no experience

o   Best practice is to cover with all employees  

  ü  Drug and Alcohol clearing house results effective 1/6/2020

o   Must be pulled prior to allowing driver to operate CDL vehicle

o   Pulled annually

o   Keep original

o   Keep last 3 years

There you go that’s all you need right?  Not quite it’s a bit more complicated than that, but don’t stress we aren’t done yet. 

The driver application needs to contain:

    ü  Name and address of employer

    ü  Date the application was completed

    ü  Applicant name

    ü  Applicant address for the past 3 years    

    ü  Applicant Date of Birth  

    ü  Applicant social security number

    ü  Applicant driver license number

    ü  Applicant driver license state

    ü  Applicant driver license expiration

    ü  Applicant previous experience

    ü  Applicant accidents for the past 3 years

    ü  Applicant traffic citations for the past 3 years

    ü  Applicant driver license requirements page

    ü  Most applications contain a fair credit reporting act  

    ü  Previous employment (10 years CDL applicants) (3 years non CDL applicants)

o   Each previous employer must include

§  Dates of employment (Month and Year)

§  Company name

§  Address (City and State)

§  Reason for leaving

§  Was this a DOT sensitive position

§  Was the employee subject to FMCSR’s

For all documents, it is best to keep the original and the past 3 years.  We suggest only keeping the necessary documents in the driver qualification file.  If you keep, more you might think that you are doing what is best and having more information is better.  During an audit or lawsuit, they can analyze your company on the information provided.  Let’s say that you messed up and didn’t pull an MVR soon enough 5 years ago and you give that to the auditor, they can issue a fine based on the documentation you give them.  We look it as you have to give the gun to the auditor when the walk through the door, you don’t have to give them the ammunition though.  Make them look for it.

There are many different ways that you can store your Driver Qualification (DQ) files.  We endorse keeping them digitally.  They are easier to navigate through and you can easily audit your files.  The other suggestion that we have for all companies no matter what size they are is to have your documents completed digitally.  This eliminates many issues with not being able to read someone’s hand writing.  This also makes it extremely easy on the auditor because they don’t have to struggle to find all of the information.  If you have questions about fallible forms or would like us to look at your DOT processes please reach out to us.  We are here to help make your life easier.

Picking the RIGHT leaders, just got a little easier!

The world is full of people who think that they are great leaders.  The truth is that there are not that many GREAT leaders.  In fact, if we look back in history we can find only a hand full of amazing leaders.  Some of those might include Moses, David, Jesus, Abraham Lincoln, & Winston Churchill, just to name a few. 

All of these leaders had a few things in common.  They did not really want to be a leader, and they did not really feel qualified to be in their position.  Power and leadership was thrust onto each of these individuals, they did not inherit it. 

Why do we continually promote those individuals in our companies and organizations that ask for the position instead of finding the best leader?  As leaders we need to start watching our people, I mean actually watching them.  Who is the one that others already follow?  Who is the one that does not need the credit for every idea? Who is the one that does not complain or give up when they are faced with a tough task?  Aren’t those the ones that we want in leadership positions?  When they see an issue they do not have to ask for permission to go fix the problem, they go out handle the situation and do not ever say a word. 

These people do not usually register high on management’s radar because they get the job done.  In fact, most managers think that they don’t do anything all day long because they don’t have to tell their boss everything that they do.  In turn, their boss doesn’t realize what an asset they are until they leave the company or transfer to a different division.  Then all of a sudden, the boss is overwhelmed with problems that they never encountered before.  You know why they never encountered all of those problems in the past.  Their “lazy” employee took care of all of those problems and never said a word.  They just did it.

Most of the great leaders feel that they are not qualified to be in leadership when they are first invited into a mentor position.  Did you know that Moses argued with God saying that he was not qualified to lead the Israelites out of Egypt?  He even bartered with God saying that he was not eloquent with words, he convinced him to allow Arron to be the one who speaks to the Israelites and Pharaoh.  Moses was convinced that he was not the person for the job.  It turns out that he was exactly what the Israelites needed. Not only did he get them out of Egypt but also lead them through the desert for 40 years.

How often do you find a young person in your company that you know would be a great leader but you don’t insist that they take a leadership role?  I have seen this repeatedly, we promote the one who’s been there the longest, and not who is best suited for the position.  All too often, we miss out on the opportunity to have a great leader because we are too set in our ways.  If you don’t live in the city you aren’t qualified, if you haven’t been here x years, you aren’t old enough, you are too old, you have tattoos, if you haven’t been in management before.  All of these are horrible reasons not to allow someone to progress. 

Here is what I am asking of all you who read this, don’t judge a book by its cover.  Look for the leaders that already exists in your organization.  Look for the one who others reach out to daily for advice on all kinds of situations.  Those are the ones who will benefit the organization the most.  They already have a following of people that truly trust their advice.  Don’t hire strictly based on previous experience, hire on personality and attitude.  The best leaders are the ones that you find and then have to convince to take the role.  They will be awesome in the position because of their humility. 

Take time to step out of your comfort zone and look for a GREAT leader for your organization.