Good Leaders Seek.....

Good leaders seek to be well prepared and try to head off problems before they arise. But sometimes no matter how well prepared, even good leaders end up dealing with a fire to put out.

This week we had to get both our children off to their perspective colleges. Being our daughter's first semester, we had been working through a long checklist of preparations, including the purchase of a used vehicle in good working order. In May we acquired a small sporty two-door in good mechanical and physical condition. We had our garage check it over and I was assured it had new tires and brakes before we made the purchase.

On Wednesday after we got her moved into the loft she was renting from a former administrative assistant of mine, my daughter and my son left in her car to meet some friends for dinner. My wife and I joined with the landlady for a short prayer of dedication for the coming year.

As we are praying the cell phone in my pocket was vibrating. Cutting short our intercession, I answered the phone. It was my son. The conversation went like this.

“What’s up?”
“The car’s on fire.”
“What do you mean the car’s on fire?”
“It’s on fire.”
“What, is it smoking?”
“No it’s burning.”
“How bad?”
“Pretty bad.”
“Is everybody okay?”
“Yeah, some guy’s putting it out.”
“Where are you? … Okay, we’re on our way.”

You can tell my son is very stoic. Not much fazes him. As my wife and I headed to the scene of the fire, I was laughing out loud. Why? Because I was being reminded once again of a leadership lesson I had learned long ago.

Leaders know that sometimes no matter how thorough the plan, no matter how well prepared you are for an event, sometimes ‘fires’ still occur. When those unexpected fires ignite all we can do is put out the flames, assess the damages, evaluate your resources and options, regroup and press on.

How well do you handle the fires?