Your Legacy is Now
Life is not a search for meaning from others, it’s about the creation of meaning for yourself.
For over 30 years Alan Weiss has consulted, coached, and advised everyone from Fortune 500 executives, state governors, non-profit directors, and entrepreneurs to athletes, entertainers, and beauty pageant contestants. That’s quite an assortment of people, and they run into the thousands. Most of them have had what we euphemistically call “means,” and some of them have had a lot more than that. Others have been aspiring and with more ends in sight than means on hand.
Alan Weiss states:
I’ve dealt with esteem (low), narcissism (high), family problems, leadership dysfunctions, insecurities, addictions, and ethical quandaries. And I’ve talked about them through the coronavirus crisis. But don’t get the wrong idea. About 95% of these people have been well-meaning, honest (to the best of their knowledge), and interested in becoming a better person and better professional. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be talking to me.
I found the equivalent of the “runner’s wall” in their journeys, where they must break through the pain and the obstacles and then can keep going with renewed energy and spirit. But runners know how far they must go after the breakthrough, be it another half lap or another five miles. There is a finish line.
I’ve found that people in all positions, even after the “breakthrough,” don’t know where they are in the race, let alone where the finish line is.
They do not know what meaning is for them. They may have money in the bank, good relationships, the admiration of others, and the love of their dogs. But they have no metrics for “What now?” They believe that at the end of life there is a tallying, some metaphysical accountant who totals up their contributions, deducts their bad acts, and creates the (hopefully positive) difference.
That difference, they believe, is their “legacy.”
But the thought that legacy arrives at the end of life is as ridiculous as someone who decides to sell a business and tries to increase its valuation the day prior. Legacy is now. Legacy is daily. Every day we create the next page in our lives, but the question becomes who is writing it and what’s being written. Is someone else creating our legacy? Or are we, ourselves, simply writing the same page repeatedly?
Or do we leave it blank?
Our organic, living legacy is marred and squeezed by huge normative pressures. There is a “threshold” point, at which one’s beliefs and values are overridden by immense peer pressure. Our metrics are forced to change.
In an age of social media, biased press, and bullying, we’ve come to a point where our legacy, ironically, is almost out of our hands.
Yet our “meaning”—our creation of meaning and not a search for some illusive alchemy—creates worth and impact for us and all those with whom we interact.
DSA
Sounds like a good opportunity to send them your booklet on “How to maximize fees”!
richmartin
A.T. Kearney was involved in a similar scandal in Canada last year. They were brought in by Treasury Board to find ways of streamlining government, or some other such aphorism. They eventually billed three times more than what had been originally budgeted for and specified in the RFP, and they still hadn’t produced a report. The project was stopped when a parliamentary committee discovered the problem and opposition MPs raised a ruckus in the House.
energizegrowth
Hi Alan,
And “Why would you hire THESE GUYS,?” Continued…
I recently went searching in my business community for a technical support person. I contacted the Chamber of Commerce. I got 4 names.
Now this is where the fun starts.
Only 2 returned my phone call after 10 days.
We had a pleasant conversation and I shared my critical requirements. I told them I don’t pay by the hour. I pay retainers and am willing to pay top dollar for the right IT consultant. They sounded excited.
I requested, prior to hiring them to come here onsite, that they send me 3 references of companies they have helped.
9 days have passed. Lyle at Connecting Point Computers disappeared and never returned my follow up call. Mark at CMIT Solutions sent me this response (6 days later):
“I apologize for being so slow getting back to you. You had asked me to send you some customer references and I have been personally stewing about your request ever since.
We would very much like to be the IT department for your business. Unfortunately, I am not willing to take the time of my established customers to have you check references. I value their time too much. The only other account that has asked me for references was Washington Mutual. I did ask customers to take the time then, but it was for a very large account. I don’t want to ask customers too often.
If there is anything else I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to let me know.”
Now, what could I POSSIBLY ask him to do for me? I’m stumped.
If you think they got it bad in Iowa, then Bend Oregon isn’t too far behind.
— Lisa Nirell
http://www.energizegrowth.com