Since I ask the question often, occasionally it comes back to me as to who my biggest influences have been in my life and career.
Usually, the answer starts and ends with my Dad. Every day, I reflect on his life and the influence he continues to have on me. He may be gone for 11 years, but his legacy lives on in me daily. With Father’s Day just ahead of us, I thought this would be the perfect time to share the impact he had on me.
Dad was a part of a family of 9 brothers and sisters. His parents immigrated from Italy, stopping off on Ellis Island, and then settling in the Philadelphia area. From a young age, he showed talent in two areas: building things and art. He was equally good at both. He chose the world of construction and became the classic example of the American dream. He started as a carpenter’s apprentice and worked his way up to being a Vice President of a major East Coast construction company. Along the way, he was responsible for the construction of two major sports stadiums: RFK in DC and the Vet in Philly, as well as several major office buildings in DC, Tampa, St. Louis, and Baltimore.
Dad was your typical ’50s/’60s parent: a tough taskmaster who was very limited with compliments and plentiful with critiques. Trying was not enough. Only results! But his biggest daily mantra was perseverance.
The best example of this happened in my college years during one of my summer breaks. I had been working as a rod setter (one who arranges those steel rods in the ground to serve as reinforcement for concrete – these days they call it “rebar”). Because I was the son of one of the “bigwigs” in the company, I was able to work in this position without serving an apprenticeship. I was a “special exception” with the union, which meant I was a target of the young apprentices who were on the job.
One day, the group I worked with got especially in my head, and I’d had enough and walked off the job, basically quit, and went home. That night, Dad came home totally aware of what happened and all the grief I had been getting, but his response was not at all what I expected. Instead of empathizing with my situation, he told me to head back to that job the next day, apologize to everyone, and get back to work. His message was clear: NEVER, EVER quit, especially when things are their toughest.
He told me if I couldn’t handle these guys, how would I be able to handle a real problem when I get into the business world? As a 20-year-old rising college junior who thought he knew it all, it was a tough pill to swallow.
I returned to that job the following day and followed all of Dad’s directions, and, I must tell you, it turned out to be one of my best life lessons ever. It was a huge piece of humble pie, although I wound up gaining the respect of my co-workers, and things turned positive from then on. To this day, I have never quit at anything. As a matter of fact, I have been singled out during my career for my perseverance, a definite lasting tribute to my ORIGINAL mentor.
If that doesn’t make the point, just think of the road taken recently by the New York Knicks, current reigning NBA Champs. Behind in the 4th quarter of every Finals playoff game but still won four out of five. Perseverance!
As you look for people who fit your station and/or staff’s culture, I challenge you to find and develop those few who have that perseverance and strength to lead from the tough times into the fun times – those ups and downs that we all experience in this business. Teach them how to pass it on and watch that perseverance become a lasting core value for your company.
Quoting an old Navy Seals mantra: “The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday”.
