game over.

Humans should come with progress bars installed.

I love video games. Madden, 2K, COD, Final Fantasy, whatever.

I’m not very good at any of them… 

Though I had a good run between 2003-2005 where I was playing with Vick on Madden and I couldn’t be stopped.

Anyway, a lot of times I see the world through the lens of video games.

If we could find a way to install energy level progress bars on people, we would be in so much better shape as leaders.

I remember getting a call from my Duty Chief at 1930 about a call from my mentor.

His message to me was “Dedication check, unsatisfactory”.

I laughed and hung up the phone and almost immediately began to feel slightly guilty for not being at work.

After really thinking about it I began to understand how completely stupid his notion was…

My impact as a leader is predicated on how many hours I remain at work.

Get to work before the sun comes up and leave after it sets.

These were my examples.

Not actively contributing to anything except a pristine inbox.  Merely being a “presence” just in case something went down.

Not purposeful or intentional, just existing in the workspace.

I watched the leaders before me expend every bit of energy they had with a purposeless existence at work.

It is the leader’s job to facilitate an environment where leaders are cultivated.  With the leader never allowing others to lead, the environment becomes stale and growth becomes stifled.

There is a point where you’re putting so much of yourself into work that your impact becomes counterproductive.

While you have convinced yourself you’re working hard, the reality is that you’re merely working long.

Why? To prove a point? To show that you’re the man/woman?

We just wind up diminishing that energy bar to the point where it will never fully regenerate.

And when we truly need those energy reserves for something significant where success requires us to be at our best… 

we will fail.

When the unexpected occurs, we are reacting just like everyone else, instead of responding.

It is when that energy bar is low when all of the cracks in our foundation are magnified.  

The unresolved anger problem that was easily managed at a higher energy level, overtakes your will when you are low.

As humans we all have imperfections but when we fail to manage our energy levels, especially as leaders, those imperfections become liabilities.

Liabilities get people killed.

In the game when I don’t rescue the princess, I can turn off the game and try again…

This isn’t a game and there is no princess but there is no pause button, we must always be ready.

At 1930, I was home with my wife and daughters laughing and dancing ensuring my energy bar is fully recharged because if I get a call at 0330 I need to be ready to respond, not react.

Take care of yourself and recharge your energy bar.

“Well oiled machines don’t grind” -Phontigallo