It's Sunday morning so I want to go back to bed ... It's a bit of a worry since I have been up since 5.30 am and its now 10, but that's another story. My father in law, who unfortunately passed away earlier this year loved this piece of Shakespeare ... It was truely his lifes inspiration, so today I borrow from him. We miss you Alan. "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all" hmmm Interesting! Enjoy x To be or not to be, that is the question; Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to — 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rub, For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause. There's the respect That makes calamity of so long life, For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of th'unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscovered country from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will, And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pitch[1] and moment With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action. Shakespeare's Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Act III, scene I
Recently I wrote about mates being awesome, and the best thing about joining the Fire Service is the camaraderie that comes with it. Honestly, I have never been involved in anything that has such a strong sense of community, and that holds the value of "having each other's back" so highly. It is an incredible organization for that reason. Our company, Queensberry, also has an amazing culture that fosters the feeling of one family and of looking after each other. We are very proud of the fact that, in all the past entries we've had in the "Best Places to Work Awards" we have been in the TOP 10, and we put the result down to our feeling of 'oneness'. There is lots of documented evidence of the value to an organization of a "tight" team and camaraderie. Of course we know that it takes time and effort to build these bonds, and although it can be very difficult the payoff potentially huge. I raise this today however as a note of caution. Being too close can turn from an asset to a liability when things go wrong, especially if you have weak leaders who fail to differentiate between friendship and the needs of the business. You must always, in business, socialise and be friendly ... foster the feelings of family and community. But you must also retain authority and be the boss. Don't let the informality of friendship slip over into the work relationship as it is so so hard to get discipline back once lost. Be careful... How are you going in your business? How are the boundaries? Do you have a good relationship with staff ... Too easy on them or too hard?