'Tis the season to be grateful and thankful for the positive things in our lives. During the holidays, we have the opportunity to reflect and express our thankfulness for: friends, families, abilities, opportunities, and more.

I believe in order for us to be grateful for things in life, we must have an internal meter of sorts. For some reason, I still remember an evening in junior high. A book report was due the next day and I had not finished reading the book. I recall feeling that this was absolutely the end of the world and my despair and panic was intense. I got through that and now many years later cannot comprehend how I thought this was such an intensely stressful moment. My perspective meter was young and not fully calibrated yet.

Many years later, me and my now husband were getting ready to get married. It was the day before we were leaving for Las Vegas to get married, we had $10 in our checking account and we were waiting for a tax return check that did not arrive. I called my father in great panic and despair. He said, “Lisa, money problems will come and go your entire life and that is not what it is important.” He did not give me a handout, only wisdom and it all worked out; he was right. He gave me the gift in my young adulthood of perspective and a basis to calibrate my meter; it has served me well.

Over 10 years later, we had started a restoration company that was rapidly growing in a state of chaos. My dad had retired from a wonderful corporate career in the insurance industry and had decided to help our young company grow during his retirement. I remember clearly a leadership meeting when the team was identifying non-issues that did not require the attention of the masterminds of the company. My dad brought focus to the real issues, the real opportunities, and reminded us of all the great things that were happening. He called a time out, drew a meter on the white board, and told us to stop and calibrate.  

The gift of perspective gave us the ability to focus on what’s important. It allowed us to be thankful and stay positive. I have since passed the gift of perspective meter calibration to many. It is always received positively and with gratitude. For some, perspective meters are calibrated well most of the time. These are the people who are just happy and grateful to wake up and seize the day. For others, perspective meters need to be frequently calibrated.

It is of critical importance that the leadership of the company keeps the meter in check. It will set the tone and help others maintain a positive and constructive approach to solving problems that need to be solved and develop improvements that need developed. It will improve your company morale. Consider…

Appreciate and be thankful for...

The sound of the team laughing in the halls.

The sound of the phones ringing because people need you.

The excited new technician who wants to learn.

The new vehicle you were able to buy for the fleet.

Or be...

Angry at the sound of laughter in the hall because of the lack of productivity.

Frustrated when the calls are pouring in because you're too busy and don’t have enough resources.

Annoyed by the new technician who does not have enough experience or training to be productive yet.

Dwelling on the new vehicle, that was hit and damaged, nobody was hurt, but….

The perspective meter will allow you and your team to focus on positive developments to help the company grow and prosper along with the individual team members. A vehicle that gets hit at no fault to your team member simply needs to be repaired. I recently needed to recalibrate when a new broom was left on a job site; never to return to its assigned vehicle. “If that is the worse thing that happened that day…” I realized that the team cares and is enthusiastic and skilled at serving our customers. The process just needed a little tweaking to help reduce the odds of a missing broom in the future.

When we fail to honor our commitments to others, when we fail our customers, when we fail our team members, when we fail to evolve, embrace challenges, and lose sight of what’s important, these are things that require our attention and care.

I am thankful to R&R for the opportunity to share my experiences and thoughts with the readers. I am grateful to the readers that find value in my articles as it fills me with joy and fulfills my passion for helping others succeed. I am grateful to my family and colleagues that support and inspire me every day. I can’t forget the little things like an enthusiastic, “Good Morning!” from a happy energetic technician, students whose light bulbs go off in front of me, and the smiles and hugs from my children.

'Tis the season to be grateful and calibrate our Perspective Meters.