Tales From the Watering Hole

“Free Thinking – Set Your Minds Free”

 

What is the Watering Hole, you may be wondering?

At Executive Wood Products, the Watering Hole is the coined title for our weekly Monday morning chat. The name was born by our VP and Director of Operations, Kayla Gregory. This is how we start our week: by going over our main priorities for the next few days in addition to asking for support or feedback, but particularly where we share any recent “Aha!” moments. Those thoughts and ideas that slip into our minds that make us stop in our tracks, even for just a moment, and think “Oh! How about?” or “What if?”… The Watering Hole is where we help each other water the proverbial seeds of our work. It’s energizing and inspiring. I can’t think of a better way to start the workweek.

Aha moments, however, don’t always occur, and they shouldn’t be forced. The man at the helm of this wonderful work we do has stated specifically, “I don’t want you to force it. Don’t feel like you have to come up with a big idea every week. Only share something if it came to you authentically.” Refreshing, right? I think so. Paul Alexander, the man at the helm, imparted even more valuable wisdom on us at this week’s gathering on how one has these authentic Aha moments….

“Aha moments come from free thinking. From setting your mind free. We have these incredible minds, these limitless computers built-in. Our brains are brilliant, but you have to cut them loose. When you find yourself in these brainstorming sessions, you can’t worry about what other people may think – you have to throw it all out there. I have developed thousands of great concepts, but I have had 10,000 bad ideas. If I have a bad idea, I scrap it and move on. That’s how we’ve come up with all of these amazing things that have helped us get to where we are today. I want you to do that. I’m not so much worried about what you think, but what you don’t think, what you don’t say.”

So there it is folks! A glimpse into the wonderful world of Executive Wood Products and the kind of leadership that keeps this little world of ours turning – creating big impacts for our customers.

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“I have spent my life thinking I was out of balance. Thinking I put too much emphasis on my work and believing I was limited because of my focus. I told myself it was okay, saying to myself, “it is what it is, I am who I am!”

Then, recently I realized something that gives me clarity; the so called “balance” is an illusion. The actual answer is in work/life integration. It goes both ways, we (those of us who love the personal and work life we have chosen) integrate our work into our personal lives and our personal lives into our work!

For example, when something happens like: A community college calls and asks for a quote for four Senators™ and four Graduates™, and suddenly you are excited and looking for people to tell, with whom to share your joy, (People who will understand your elation). You tell not only your coworkers but carry that thrill into your personal life and tell your loved ones. In this moment it becomes clear, you are integrated! In this moment we realize our success at work gives us joy at home.

When we sit at our desks, or collaborate with our teammates, focused upon our work and the growth of our business, (meanwhile the voices and faces of our families resonate in the back of our minds) we are integrated.

If you do the work you do, if you are only here for the money, this is not the work life for you!

To achieve true integration, in its purest form, we must each discover our personal “why”.

Why do we do what we do, both personally and professionally, what are our goals and aspirations?

Mine are actually quite simple; I wish to make a difference in the world!
I wish to help make people safe, to save lives. I wish to support their desire to present themselves in such a way, from behind our lecterns, that assists them to make their messages more meaningful.

If we dress for success, it stands to reason, we should also equip ourselves with the accoutrement that completes our image and gives us the power of presence!

Clearly, my “why” is to give world leaders, and influencers, that power of presence, along with providing safer environments for our children, tools for first responders,and safe havens for anyone at risk.

My “why”, my work/life integration, our company and its accompanying reputation, these things are my/our legacy.”

– Founder and CEO, Paul Alexander