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It's a sad fact that the only thing we know with certainty in life is that one day we will die. Despite this certainty, a lot of people will be affected by the loss, the only question being, by how much and in what way? Will our passing give cause for celebration, a time to remember the wonderful times together, or will our passing be the beginning of the end for someone else who can't focus on anything but our being gone. One of the unfortunate things about being in the Fire Service is that you get to be there at the point someone passes, you observe a family's anguish and fear, but you don't get to see the resolution of this over time. It's there and then it's over. One surreal experience I had was going to a call where we were couldn't revive a lady using CPR, then rushing home and 30 minutes later being at a comedy movie with my kids. I wasn't really in the mood at the beginning, but I had promised the kids we would go, and we had lots of fun despite, I guess, the extreme anguish of the husband I had just left... For the rest of the world "Life Goes On". I don't say this to be insensitive. Of course I feel deeply for the people in these situations, and in my own family we've had more than our fair share of pain. It is however a basic reality and there's a similar situation in business. When you're running a business it's hard when a key staff member decides to leave. It's not the same as someone dying but many of the emotions are similar. Fear of the future, sadness at not continuing the journey with them, not knowing how to do what that person did, a deep feeling of loss. The question is not will people leave a business, but when. There are at least 3 things required to deal with this ... #1 A contingency plan: what will I do if that person does leave? #2 Make sure all your eggs aren't in one basket. That is, make sure that in all teams more than one person knows how to do each job. #3 An acceptance of the fact that this is a natural part of the cycle of life. Treat it as an opportunity for change and review how things might be even be better. Celebrate their having been here and the exciting challenges they move on to. I'm never happy to see someone leave our companies. It causes disruption and I'm kind of selfish. I'd like them to want to stay and I miss them when they're gone. It is however a sign that I'm employing people who care about themselves and are looking for a life full of challenges and experiences, just like me. I'd love to hear how you deal with people leaving your business, or dealing with loss generally. How about letting me know in the comment section below. 
Hmm "Am I Self Righteous or a Hypocrite"? LOL I put that as an either or ... but on the weekend I was accused of being both ... Ouch that hurt, but like all things it got me thinking. I think we all are, from time to time, at least to a small extent, and I certainly leave myself open to being accused of both because I take a public position on things. The truth is this: I am certainly a long way from perfect and I have a lot to be embarrassed about and a little to be ashamed of. I have done lots of stupid things, made lots of mistakes and have hurt a number of people along the way. I regret these mistakes, would like to have been cleverer and wish I could take back the hurt. In my model of the world, however, that means I have something to teach, not a reason to feel guilty and keep my mouth closed. We have all made mistakes. Some have stolen from their parents, cheated on a test, lied to a friend and known it was wrong. I think however that these are also learning experiences. The question is what do we do with them? I'm not perfect, and I certainly don't know everything. What you read here is just an opinion. But I have
When I make a mistake in business or my life generally I want to be able to share it, as hopefully someone will avoid making the same mistake and more importantly pay the cost.
If a few people each day get a new distinction I am happy. Like my post yesterday, if a man thinks a little differently about how he could honor his wife, or a wife more clearly expresses how she needs to be loved, then I would smile.
Being public gives me leverage to hold myself to a higher standard, a personal thing but very beneficial, at least to me. Please, take what you want, and laugh at the rest ... but most importantly be open to something new. Thank you for reading, and please share your thoughts below. Your friend Stephen PS Oh ... and of course blogging is about sharing your story, and people do it in different ways ... like The Honest Truth. Look at the photos of New Zealand (my home) on her blog here
... amazing
The guys came up with this advertisement which we ran ... as is ... and the response was 11 candidates, all great but two brilliant finds. Total cost about $120 for an advert on seek. If they couldn't solve the code, they couldn't apply ... nothing else pointed to us.
What a great catch!
I've Tittered about "Kebab Friday" before ... see if you can see the embedded humour :-)
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