We had an interesting week. Most of us had our “heads down” …working with great focus to meet deadlines; moving fast—yet in a managed way. We’ve made some great inroads! But we’ve faced many distractions as well; the toughest caused by promises made, then not kept. We’ve also had new people come and go over the last week or two. Both are a huge time sinks for the company, and tear at our finances and emotions. You all have suffered when I am being taken advantage of. I am sorry for that, and I’m doing the internal work to have that not happen. What have I learned? To get back to our core team; to focus on and nurture the people that share the values set at the top of this company and who are sure to succeed in a pay for performance culture. Those who build value for this company WILL BE SUCCESSFUL—individually and as part of our team.

GOOD NEWS! We do have this strength within the team. I can select only one of you for this email. The person this email goes to has exhibited time and again that he cares about the company. At times he’s gone unnoticed for it.

Today I will shout about how impressed I am…

This week’s “Wow!” goes to ——— for keeping an eye on our company even during a recent break.

Here’s our “wow” for this week: I am sending to you a “WOW!” as a person who shares the core values of this company, including trust, resilience, continuous learning, creativity and building value. You and I acknowledge that we both have things to learn. It is the shared values that we will rely on as we go forward and this, along with open minds and (my) emotions in check, will guide us back to alignment, and success. Thank you for your patience.

Why is this “wow!”? Once a promise to me is broken it is a changed relationship for me; no longer is the person a core team member because they have shown their true colors. He has NEVER broken a promise. He has never dropped out of site. He has never made excuses or demands after we have agreed. I trust him and he makes our team stronger.

Why is it important? Trust supports agreement, and healthy disagreement. It allows us to stay focused, ask for help when we need it, and keep our eyes open in a way that is aligned with what is best for the company. Trust promotes the conversations that help us determine what each individual needs, so that their roles for the company can be aligned with their own goals.

Congrats!