I’m overseas right now and the schedule is a 24/7 work schedule. The hours are insane but we try hard to keep our schedule lite on Sundays to give the team (and us) time to think, reset, and grab a few extra hours of sleep.
As I reflected on my horrible performance as a writer and blogger over the last few months, I found myself this morning thinking about my Mom. (We lost her to cancer two years ago.) She taught my Sister and me so much… and would often shut us both down when we were misbehaving with a single question…
“Who is the owner of this problem?”
My mom first asked me this when I was 10 years old. I still remember where I was in our house in Alamogordo, NM. I was whining about some issue… when BOOM.. she laid it on me.
“Dan, who is the owner of this problem?” I was stopped dead in my tracks.
I have no idea where she pulled this most perfect question from… but it was clear to her, and more importantly to me, that I had no way out. It was and still is, one of the single biggest questions that has helped shape my life. She used it on me many times to my dismay.. and I use it today to help lead great teams.
Great leaders, and their teams, own problems. They work and think hard to understand the environment, the problem, the potential solutions, and they get at solving them – in business, the military, and life.
Mom, I own not blogging very much over the past few months. I will do better.
Your Son
