Six Q

The forecast for this morning’s running of the Coconut Horse was ominous. Fortunately the temperature was a pleasant 61 degrees at game time and the rain was barely falling, if at all. The rare occurrence that I was 7 minutes early I observed Stroganoff stretching and Gavel getting an early start out of the gate. The rest of the Sum-britches gang arrived right on time. Apparently everyone got the hidden memo to wear neon tops. In this case, “seeing to be seen” is a positive and not just a social media post. At 0630, Stroganoff gets the itch to head out – I shove their bat-flipping boat off the dock as Flintstone’s pre-warm up routine required more muscle rolling.

I roll out of the parking lot with Flintstone – I share that Gavel is already on the course to which he replies “let’s go catch him…” That was not the challenge I was seeking this fine morning. I manage to stick with the svelt First F Q, discussing a variety of topics including the Convergence and Slaw appropriately winning the Belt! (BTW – NC State v. Va Tech is in Blacksburg on November 18th). We hit the bridge entering the greenway and Flintstone hits a stride that he begins gliding over the trail. After the Convergence, I spread 50 bails of pine needles yesterday afternoon and had nothing to offer at that point except watch the vapor trail (not that I would have kept up had I been fully rested and drank rocket fuel either).

Flintstone accomplished his mission to not only catch the neon Sum-britches gang, but Gavel as well. He then circled back for the slow Q and guided me home. Leading from the Six still counts I guess.

QSource – Dichotomy of Leadership which is a great discussion as we have learned through 4 chapters what is the answer? “it depends.” What Jocko and Leif outline are situations where hard decisions must be contemplated. No one enjoys the pressure of difficult decision, especially one that shapes your life. In Ramadi, the SEAL members of Task Unit Bruiser were faced with those pressure situations on a daily basis. In our personal and work lives, the challenges we face are not typically life threatening, but they can still be difficult and unique where one response may be different than the next. Today’s chapter on “When to Mentor, When to Fire” deals with personnel issues of when training or mentorship is not working, and the person is struggling. Jocko shares “most underperformers don’t need to be fired; they need to be led.” How much time do you invest on that person? (a: ‘it depends’) Are they trainable? Is there a different role they should be doing? Or is the Black Tahoe best for all involved? This chapter resembles QSource on Accountability – Team (Q4.8). Today’s group agreed documenting low performance is a necessary tool to cover a leader. Make sure the person understands the “why” and the consequences. We all shared some thoughts and questions, including the true source of “FNG” (Whoopee swears DREDD got it from Forest Gump…).

Prayer requests: Huck, Jane Fonda, the Long family traveling; Announcements: look for pre-blast from Purple Haze about 2nd F bike trip; 5/13 – JJ leads Annihilation at GasHouse – JJ promised a burner – I expect a combination of SA’s physical beatdown with Linus’ mental trickery – should be special.

Happy Birthday Whoopee