The Emergency Visit

In the wee hours of Thursday morning I was awaken by searing pain in my right eye. After drops and much weeping I decided to try sleeping it off. When I awoke to brush up the Thursday leadership blog, the pain began anew. The inability to see out of my right eye and the searing pain had me quite distracted. After an emergency visit to the eye doctor I was told that I had somehow managed to tear the front part of my eye. Likely because my lid and eye dried together in the night.

Who knew? Thankfully there are modern remedies that can fix bizarre issues like this and I am now in mending mode.

All that to say that my leadership tip (one day late) has been changed due to my experience. 

The real reason that my blog is late is not because of the bizarre emergency, but because I failed to put in place a back up plan for emergencies. You and I are not responsible for the emergencies that hit us out of the blue--but we are responsible to prepare for them. 

I made the rookie mistake of looking at the rosy side of life and falsely believing that my company and my life will continue to move in a positive direction. 

The reality is that life happens to all of us. Life isn't about a pretty march up to the golden gates of success. It is, instead, a winding road with hills and valleys along the way. 

As you seek success for your life and company, make sure you ask yourself some questions. Below are a few to get you started.

• What is the worst thing that can go wrong at this time?
• If you were out of the picture tomorrow have you equipped your team to continue the success of the company on their own? 
• If there were an environmental disaster is your team prepared to respond?

These are just a few ideas. Now it's your turn. I do have back up leadership tips that are ready to go for busy days, but I never set in place a contingency plan if I am taken out of the picture. A rookie mistake I won't make again.

Live awesomely,
Angela Decoteau (Deck-uh-toe)
Success Strategist, Awesome Activator
Encourage . Equip . Empower