No Title

There is no title because I haven’t written a blog for today. Why is that?

Things have happened fast and furious lately. Yesterday (Monday) I had to two morning meetings, a lunch appointment and a long City Council meeting to cover for the newspaper. Got home after 9 pm and the Council was still meeting and had a closed session scheduled for later!

Got home; ate a snack; cuddled the dog and relaxed a little before going to bed.

Usually I write the blog one day ahead and have a good idea of the material I want to cover in advance. But I don’t want to get too far ahead because the sense of immediacy gets lost. That’s not a good thing. So………

Woke this morning thinking of this blog. Pondered writing about our dog, or the joy of having a dog. Their patience, attentive and doting qualities. How calming they are for us humans! How grounding they are for our lives.

Then I thought of the meetings ahead of me for this week. Then the chores needing to be done around the house. Then my writing assignments for the newspaper this week and next. And I started to become overwhelmed. You see the problem.

Each morning I make a pot of coffee and peruse my email traffic, handle it, then move on to Internet sites I follow. Catch up on the day’s news, or what passes for that these days in the world of the Internet! Election day in New Hampshire. Economic news a bit stronger. Stock market in fairly good place and poised for stronger pricing. Slippage of some retailers, this time Best Buy! A dribble of other news. Nothing earth shaking.

Then I move on to consider the issues of the day that matter. What should I write about?

Let me try this one on: annual meeting of our local arts council is Wednesday evening. I am on the ballot to be the next president of the organization. This means I will follow our first president, now recently deceased. He and I had talked about the need for strategic planning and building a leadership development and succession plan. Then he got sick and died before we had a chance to address the issue. So that is what my task will be; work with the board and membership to develop a strategic plan, and to provide a succession plan and leadership nurture process.

As a retired strategic planning consultant, I must share with you the overwhelming need for each organization to focus first on its purpose (mission clarity), then its vision (long term dream of its future), then internal organization strength (its leaders and members). If all are on board with these basics, then the success of the organization is better than 50/50. Paying attention to these elements is important. Checking them and revisiting them regularly pays dividends. Doing so ensures the organization doesn’t slip far from its original intentions, stays on track and builds solid structure for future effectiveness.

I say this because it is important. For so much of what we do in life. Not just organizations. But for personal goals, too. And family goals. And quality of life. And neighborhood, community, church, job, whatever. Simply put it is important that we retain focus on

• Who we are
• Who is important in our life
• What we are about
• Why it matters
• What the long term future holds for us
• What can I do to make good things happen?

The basics matter. A lot. When trouble visits, it is the basics that lead us out of harm’s way. When catastrophe strikes, basics come to the rescue again!

Witness economic realities. For most of us our lives have been changed dramatically over the past few years due to loss of assets, loss of health, loss of jobs, insecurity, you name it.  But we find happiness and comfort in our family, our friends, and meaningful social participation. Making good things happen is a worthy pastime. Or career.

May such be yours today and in the future.

January 10, 2012