Death of a Leader Series

So, a little about me and how this all came about! Born March 31, 1962, I was blessed with tremendous amounts of energy from the day I was born ( I truly believe that my parents sedated me during my earlier years, since I do not have much recollection of that time). My parents were both very intelligent and well educated. My Mom worked for the Southern California Gas Company for 30 years (wow, those were the days) and my Dad taught math at what is now known as Rancho Santiago Community College - again for nearly 30 years! They played musical instruments, spoke multiple languages, and had a deep appreciation for the arts and the outdoors. They were always pushing me to try new things and soak up life?s experiences and nature?s wonders. In short, I had a great platform for my life ahead.

I was told that if I worked hard, went to school, got good grades, and stayed out of trouble, that I would get a good job and could go anywhere and do anything with my life. The old Protestant work ethic was drilled into me from day one. In fact, the surest way to get into trouble with either parent was to take the easy way out or to take a short cut of some kind. In any case, I was expected to live up to my potential and take advantage of the gifts that God had bestowed upon me. Work hard first, then work some more, be the best person you can be, develop every aspect of your being, then you will have some time to play! Oh, and always give more than expected at school and work, do more work than expected; do it a higher quality level; get it done before the deadline; and do it under budget! My parents both instilled in me the value of principles and living a principle centered life. Yes, they were primarily Christian based principles, but they were principles that cut across all religions and walks of life. By focusing on the right principles and holding true to the right values, I could live my life with integrity, hold my head up high and no matter what, make it through any situation. Now clearly, I made mistakes along the way and failed to live up to these high ideals but it was not through lack of effort or dedication. Make no mistake; I am not a Saint by any stretch of the imagination and have many failures both business and personal in my life.

But I digress - back to Mom and Dad. They encouraged healthy debate on all topics. They pushed me to do the research before just popping off. They stressed using logic and critical thinking skills to reach conclusions and make decisions. They told me that when in doubt, listen to my heart and try to weigh everything out. Try to see all sides of the issue. Look at all sides for potential solutions. Everything is connected decisions that I make now will have consequences in the future for me and others. Based on this upbringing, even as a teenager, I was optimistic, filled with hope, had a can do attitude about anything. I was excited about the future. I just knew, absolutely knew, that I would be a success! No challenge would be too big. No mountain insurmountable. No valley too deep or dark or scary. I was young (and now realize very, very dumb) and I was invincible!

And why not? When I graduated from high school I had a 3.5+ GPA; I had a taken a number of AP classes and jump started my college years with a few credits and courses already out of the way; I worked year round in various diners and restaurants; I had my own car which I was responsible for maintaining; I was All League and All County in basketball (even though I was 5 feet 9 inches and weighed about 130 pounds soaking wet); I had competed across the USA in water ski tournaments and ran a water ski school with my Dad during the summer; I had been down the Colorado River 7 times; I had camped throughout most of the 11 Western states; and oh yeah, I had been a professional water ski show skier since I had been ten years old.

I then went on college and received my Bachelor of Science, in Business Administration, from California State University of Fullerton (CSUF) in December, 1984. I had an emphasis in Marketing (Advertising Management, Sales Force Management) and also received a minor in Management Information Systems. Later, I went back to CSUF and obtained my MBA in Finance, in December, 1992. I chose CSUF because it met two of my big criteria, cheap and close, since I would be working full time to fund my own education. When I look back on those times, I see now how lucky I was and how much fun I truly had!

So, my life drivers were clearly in charge and doing quite nicely, thank you very much, but the death drivers were coming - and coming fast. Slowly, so slowly that I was not even consciously aware of it happening, I began dying. The Death of Joel, the death of a leader, the death of my principles, my beliefs, my vision, my hopes, my dreams, my ambitions, and even my faith had begun. And while there were issues on the personal/home front, the primary cause of the Death of Joel was the corporation and the world of business.

It seems that what I had been taught from my parents, reinforced in my education, and was accepted as common knowledge by my achievement oriented peer group is not truly valued or practiced by 90% of the corporate world. Sure the corporation proclaimed it did but as you will see in my life and the lives of others, it is nothing but hypocrisy! And the while the leaders at the top must surely shoulder much of the responsibility for this, so too must front line/middle managers and the employees themselves. It is all connected. It is all inter-related.