Your Decision

My good friend, Chuck, once worked for a charismatic leader.  That leader was Howard Hanson, Director of South Dakota Services to the Blind and Visually Handicapped.  When Howard walked into the room, people would look up from what they were doing.  When Howard spoke, the crowd got quieter.  When you talked to Howard, he would look at you and absorb everything you were saying.  You felt like you were alone in the world with him; which was amazing because Howard was stone, cold blind.

How was it possible for someone with such a handicap to get people to follow him so blindly?  Chuck got an insight on day when he asked Howard how he met his wife.  Howard’s wife was as beautiful on the outside as she was on the inside.

Howard was on a first date with his future wife, but the future was far from certain.  The conversation was flagging.  Howard asked her what was wrong.  She said, “You’re not looking to me when you’re talking to me!  You may be blind but you can still look at me!"

“That was it,” Howard told Chuck.  “At that point I had a decision to make.  I could do nothing, or I could accept the call to adventure.  I decided to cross the bridge.  We soon ended up happily married!”

Howard decided that he was not going to let his handicap stop him from going after an opportunity.  From that day on he always looked at people when he was talking with them. It made all the difference for him, both personally and professionally. 

Each one of us has a handicap.  Each one of us has opportunities.  And each one of us has a decision to make.  Your handicap can excuse you for doing nothing, or it can challenge you to achieve the extraordinary.

Most managers in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and dietary supplement industries are great analytical problem solvers.  Motivating teams to follow GMPs every time, even when no-one is looking, is a challenge for us.  Charismatic leadership probably isn’t our gift. We need help.

Positive Compliance^TM helps companies dramatically improve GMP compliance by exploiting the natural talent of the personnel on your team.

How about you?  Do you have a similar story?  What has worked best for you?  Comment below.