Since i’ve been on Vacation all week, I thought it would be the best time to post this cause I don’t know what’s been going on and so no one thinks this is a personal attack!  So, with that said,  this post is not for the snowflake or light of heart….but, as iron sharpens iron, a challenge to myself and the PAX…and this has been on my mind for some time now…just getting some time to post it.

I believe that we as a PAX have become somewhat complacent when it comes to things…i’ll start with the man in the mirror…

I need to be better at:

1.  Not being passive aggressive when frustrated with another PAX, for whatever silly reason.
2. Looking after the 6th more.  Sludge graciously pointed this out to me.
3. Not showing up to service events.
4. Less crude, more encouraging.  Sometimes Dr. Evil encourages this and then finishes the sentence with a crude joke…

So (3) things for us all…and a quote for each.

1.  “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”  The purpose of this is not to criticize to criticize, but to push us to be better.  The invigoration of male leadership includes constructive criticism to make us better.

2.  Time is Money….if you are self-employed this takes on a whole new meaning, but even if you’re salaried, your time is money.  Let’s say the average PAX member makes $50,000 a year.  That equates to roughly $24 an hour.  F3 is at least a (1) hour commitment with travel time, so let’s just say 20 people show up to your Q.  That is $24*20 people=$480 worth of time.  And that is a conservative assumption, because for you to make $24 an hour, it costs your employer about $60 an hour…regardless, minimum of $480 of time for 20 people to show up.  So, when you Q, keep that in mind.  If you improv a Q, it’s obvious.  If you come up with it on your drive in that morning, it’s obvious.  Respect each other’s time.  To me, this means that you write a preblast, plan a Q, and write a prompt backblast.  Backblast doesn’t need to wax poetic, but you can use your Q planning sheet (if you type it) and just add PAX names and announcements.  When you sign up to Q, you sign up to preblast, Q, and backblast.  Otherwise don’t Q.   Or, we just do away with preblast and backblasts all together.  For some people to do them, and others think it’s not worth their time, is disrespectful.

3.  “Good is the enemy of great.” – Jim Collins….So if I ever were to have another job interview and I was asked what is your greatest weakness, I would honestly have to say being a perfectionist.  Reason is that i sometimes push my perfectionism on others, which may or may not be fair.  So, I constantly have to step back and ask myself, is this really a big deal or is this me being a perfectionist?  So right now, I think that F3 Kernersville is good, but it’s not great.  We have become complacent with the (4) things I struggle with, the lack of dedication to Q-ing, lack of sign-ups, lack of pre/backblasts, etc.  We can accept that we are good, or we can strive to be better.  My hope is that we challenge each other…that as Paul says in Romans 12:10, “Love one another with brotherly affection.  OUTDO one another in showing honor.”  In other words, we can excel by trying to outdo each other in terms of Q’ing by trying to one-up each other’s Qs…not for our own glory, but for the betterment of the PAX.

I welcome any feedback you all have.

For the betterment of the PAX,

Dean