March Blog
This month we will discuss:
- Wisdom for Husbands and Sheriffs
- Quotes
- Chesapeake News
Wisdom for Husbands and Sheriffs:
Last month we spent a few days in Huntsville attending an Alabama Sheriff’s Conference. Huntsville is impressive and is now the largest city in the state, surpassing Birmingham. What we do most of the time at these conferences is man our booth and explain to folks why they need to be doing business with us; “We help keep you out of the headlines.” That will normally get a follow-up question or two. One place a sheriff does not want to find themselves is in the headlines.
During the conference there was a talk on leadership that included some discussion on emotional intelligence. The speaker wanted to know if anyone wanted to share a personal example where they had not done their best at emotional intelligence. There was a prize involved and I had a great example so I raised my hand.
I told a story about one of Linda and my first spats as newlyweds. We lived in Hendersonville, North Carolina at the time. Linda storms out of our apartment, into what was a rainy evening. I continued to watch TV and about five minutes later Linda returned looking like a drowned puppy (quite a cute one I might add). “You didn’t come after me,” Linda moaned. My response was classic and as you will see, won the award for best example of doing something stupid, “Well no. I have better sense than to stand out there in the rain.”
As the words were leaving my mouth something just felt amiss. My flawless male sensitivity meter was trying to tell me I had erred. The audience roared in laughter; I won the prize which was a book. The speaker then asked, “Well how long did you stay married?”
“Fifty years and counting,” was my reply. I think he wanted to give me an additional prize.
So, my advice to husbands; if your wife ever leaves the house mad and stands in the rain and questions “why didn’t you chase after me” — DO NOT say, “I have better sense than to stand out there in the rain.” Just don’t do it.
My advice to sheriff’s; have each of your deputies take an emotional intelligence test and take appropriate action based upon the results. The assessments are inexpensive (around $100 per person) and they can help you avoid an error in judgement that can have an enormous cost in human suffering, money and resources dealing with the event.
For many years I ran factories. In a factory, safety is an issue. One accident can be catastrophic in personal injury/suffering and damage to the facility and/or the environment. Accidents are caused by unsafe acts and unsafe conditions and those are the effect of attitude. If you are going to have an impact on the accident rate you must address the attitude and the culture. You do this through ongoing education/training. This is not exciting work, and many get lulled into the idea that you do not have to do it. You ignore the training at your own peril. Something like focusing on emotional intelligence is the same thing. You do not appear to need it until you do. Then it is too late.
Call us for more information. We can help you stay out of the headlines and have a better organization.
Quotes:
- It is wise to keep in mind that neither success nor failure is ever final. Roger Babson
- A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. Winston Churchill
- Who sows virtue reaps honor. Leonardo Da Vinci
- To reach your potential you must constantly improve yourself. John Maxwell
- Great things are done by a series of small things brought together. Vincent Van Gogh
- Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand. Neil Armstrong
- Don’t be afraid to give up the good for the great. Kenny Rogers
- A man there was and they called him mad; the more he gave the more he had. John Bunyan
- God loves a person who gives cheerfully. And God will generously provide all you need. 2 Corinthians 9:7-8
- Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy. Saadi
- The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. Vince Lombardi
- Nothing will work unless you do. Maya Angelou
Chesapeake News:
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John Covington