The Company You Keep
Of all the decisions you can make, there are none more important than determining those with whom you will associate. You can’t pick your family or your circumstances early in life, but you can pick everyone else. Those choices will have profound effects on the course of your life and career; ultimately they will accumulate and become your legacy.
As a youth, choosing friends provides the earliest opportunities to get it right, or learn quickly and redirect if you get it wrong. Sometimes others choose you, but not always for admirable reasons. Their motives may be genuine, but can also be based on a perceived ability to influence, manipulate, or even dominate others in the worst of circumstances. Early habits formed here can be difficult to break later in life. Attentive parenting helps guide these choices, although that alone is not always sufficient.
As we grow up, more of our people choices belong to us: broader circles of friends, clubs, schools, work associates and community involvement. These choices have massive influence on the quality of our lives on a day-to-day basis, which is exactly how we live them.
“The company you keep” has the power to either short-circuit a life’s potential, or guide one on a path of a life well-lived. I’ve witnessed both ends of the spectrum and have seen that the path taken hinges upon a crystal clear decision regarding “the company you keep”. When things aren’t going as they should be, the hope is for a wake-up call before it’s too late. Some hear it; sadly, others are tuned to a different frequency when the message goes out.
My long-held belief is that great companies are built by inspired people with shared purpose, working together in an environment of mutual respect and trust. Those inspired people are brought together by choice and circumstances; they stay together if they benefit and strengthen each other over time.
Choose the company you keep wisely and – Enjoy the Journey!
6 Comments
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Ty Rentz
8 years agoSo True Bill, As a married couple my wife and I are clear on the types of people we will or will not be close to and associate with regularly. In business I feel sometimes we are sometimes placed in circumstances with people we would not normally associate and without proper planning and clear-cut guidelines we can willfully bring on the unwanted types. We continue to develop our team in Jax one member at a time with clear cut expectation and standards that we will not compromise. When they are compromised we re-direct via coaching/training up to encourage a plan to overcome obstacles and improve decision making instead of aggressive, matter of fact discipline. We find that with proper care, respect, coaching, training and clear cut expectations even the undesirables perform better, evolve into better employees and/or make it clear they are with us or against us. In business it is key to understand how to develop staff at every level. In my personal life I can afford to be much more selective, but in business we can still find diamonds in the rough if we understand how to develop people. It’s all about relationships in life and over the years I have acquired wisdom…sometimes the hard way! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and insights Bill!
Bill
8 years agoTy-
You make some great points. In business we find ourselves in all sorts of situation and with all different types of people. Having a core team around us, supporting our efforts, is crucial in effectively navigating daily challenges.
Bill
Christina Checchi
8 years agoBill –
What an excellent, thought-provoking article. I love when candidates ask questions during an interview because it shows they are truly looking for a premier company with a strong team. They should be interviewing us as much as we are interviewing them. In the same regard, this is why it’s so important to make an informed hiring decision, because adding a new member to the team can drastically alter the dynamic, for the good or the bad. It’s so exciting to continue evolving and strengthening our interview processes across Yellowstone!
Thank you for sharing!
Christina
Bill
8 years agoChristina-
You are spot-on. The fit must be mutual when adding a new member to the Team!
Bill
Singapore Shelf Companies
8 years agoEach & every tips of your post are awesome.
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5 years ago[…] a conscious decision regarding those with whom we choose to associate. You eventually become like The Company You Keep. When we choose well, according to a clear set of guiding principles, we create an attractive […]