What do you do when you're having a bad day?

Rough Notes, Jul 2003 by Bailey, Robert L

Change it to a great day

Great leaders are upbeat!

Positive!

Optimistic!

Great leaders get up when they're knocked down, brush themselves off, smile, and continue their missions. They recognize that falling down periodically is a part of life. None of us would have learned to walk had we not fallen down time and again.

Great leaders love the challenges of business. They love the problems that are inherent in business. They recognize that these simply are hurdles that keep life interesting and free of boredom.

Great leaders give those around them a much-needed lift. People feel better when they're around a great leader. People have confidence they can solve any problem because the leader has confidence in them. The leader knows inherently when a person needs a pat on the back or a gentle nudge.

Great leaders can take what life dishes out. They stand up for what they believe and let the blows and barbs glance off like cotton balls. They're tough. Leaders have to be tough when there are so many wussy, weak and whiny individuals who delight in pulling leaders down to their level.

In honoring the seven astronauts whose lives were lost in the Columbia tragedy, we learned that all had the ingredients of great leaders. They were positive people who loved the excitement of exploring new frontiers, all the while recognizing the dangers involved.

Do leaders have bad days from time to time? Of course they do. But leaders don't let it show. They have a responsibility to do four simple things that make every day a great day.

1. Act positive. Act like today is a great day. It won't be long until you won't have to act-the day really is a great day.

It's not hard to act once you recognize that there's value in everything that happens. Although elusive at times, when you look back, the value becomes apparent in the event that once seemed so devastating.

Tommy Lasorda of Los Angeles Dodgers fame said the most important thing he could do was "walk into the clubhouse the right way. It didn't matter whether we had won eight in a row or lost eight in a row. The minute I came in, my players had to see an upbeat, positive manager. I had to walk straight, have a smile on my face and an optimistic gleam in my eye. If my players had seen my chin at my belt buckle, the gloom would have spread like wildfire."

2. Read something inspirational every day. The writings of Dr. Norman Vincent Peale are among my favorites. His books, The Power of Positive Thinking and others, remind me to be confident and relaxed as I go about solving the problems inherent in life and in any business. Dr. Peale reminds me to "believe that problems do have answers, that they can be overcome, and that you can solve them."

One publication from the Peale Foundation for Christian Living is titled Positive Thinking. By coincidence, this quarterly publication arrived while I was writing this column. One article is titled "Things Go Better When You Pray". It quotes Dr. Peale's conversation with a man who believed he was carrying more than his share of burdens. Dr. Peale recommended to the man that he "give thought to your problem in an objective, positive manner. Do the very best you can about everything concerning it. Then leave it all to God. And I guarantee that you will soon find yourself in a much better situation."

Another one of my favorites is Guideposts magazine. It bills itself as "True stories of hope and inspiration ... written by people from all walks of life. Its articles help readers achieve their maximum personal and spiritual potential." When I read the stories in Guideposts, often by people who have overcome overwhelming problems and have gone on to achieve so much in life, I recognize just how manageable my problems are. If these folks can handle such big problems, then certainly my little problem can't possibly be a big deal.

3. Get some rest. I have found that problems are smaller and can be digested more easily when I am rested. When I arrive home at 1:00 a.m. after a late flight and the starting gun goes off at the usual 5:00 a.m., the problems that emerge during the day are bigger. After a good night's sleep, the problem that seemed so weighty the day before doesn't seem so big. The solution is more readily apparent. So I cut out the TV time and whenever possible go to bed early. And I get up early. Basketball coach Rick Pitino says that optimists get up early; pessimists get up late. I think he's on to something.

4. Build a positive, capable team. None of us-even the greatest of leaders-can carry every burden alone. A great team can solve any problem.

Back in my corporate life, when asked why I did not appear to be worried about an unusually difficult problem, I often answered that I had a little 10-page book that provided answers to any conceivable problem. It's the company telephone directory. I could call one number in that little book and get the answer to nearly any question conceivable to mankind.

The people listed in that little booklet knew more about any one phase of the company, or the insurance business, than I could possibly know. The accountants knew more about accounting than I did; the underwriters knew more about underwriting than I did; the computer people knew more about computers than I did (the world's greatest understatement); the claims people knew more about claims than I did. And so it went throughout the company.