here's a weird thing human beings like to be light and that kind of makes sense
it's kind of okay but sometimes when we indulge too much man
we get in trouble adolescents want to maintain or build their social status
and that leads to scary decisions we all know this guess what it's not just
adolescents oh no I watch adults of every variety you can imagine also want
to maintain or build their social status and so they often make suspect decisions
you want to make great decisions long-term that make you the best version
of a leader that you can possibly be you got to remember the popular is fickle
and fleeting it's almost an illusion and being liked comes and goes on a daily
basis that is not the goal of leadership in any way shape or form the coin of the
realm is earned respect which comes through solid character and great
performance now if you've never experienced this most of you have good
people just like you can turn on you for two hours maybe two days if they don't
like a particular decision that you've made that happens and so what you got to
deal with it I learned years ago in a very colorful way how people will turn
on you in the drop of a dime if they don't like a particular decision that
you've made I was working for a little firm called Ernst and Young and me and
my boss just the two of us were getting on an airplane every week going from
Atlanta to Dallas to try and woo a big client and the same routine happen every
week and it bugged me I get on this big jumbo jet there's my boss right in front
of me and he would stop right there at his cushy well-appointed first-class
seat let me ask you kindly how many people in this room so far in your lives
have not had the opportunity to sit in first class keep him up I immediately
let me tell you people something ready it's a different world in first-class
I'm six foot four man I could use some leg room first classes bigger seats
cushy upholstery dedicated restroom dedicated staff ok menu decent Scotch
it's a different world in first class my boss was at a career stage where that
was his home I was not he thought that was funny
because I had to walk past him through that you know this air lines are funny
they want you to know as they build that arrogant wall that you are leaving the
promised land and walking in to the cheap seats the unwashed masses I didn't
like that but I had to do it cuz that was my lot in life at the time so I
would pass him and he'd make the same joke every week and it just made me mad
some version of how I was about to walk through what he referred to as the poor
portal P oor he thought that was funny I did not but the week in question it
didn't bother me because this week I had a seat in the bulkhead row and many of
you know that's the front seat of the cheap seats it's not first class but
it's as close as I ever thought back then that I would get the first class in
his leg room four days in the bulkhead row happy guy I make your jokes I don't
care I walk through the arrogant partition I got three seats right there
one by the window is mine I sit down I pull out of books gonna be a great
flight now I'm sitting there reading my book got my window seat happy guy I see
out of my peripheral vision the next cat walking through the pour portal I look
over I see the gun the badge the insignia that's the US Marshal he's not
alone he's doing this as he pulls the next guy through the pour portal that
gentleman's wearing an orange jumpsuit and shackles where you think they said
I'm touching elbows with a stranger and I got to tell you to this day I don't
know why the marshal did not choose to sit between me and the guy in the orange
jumpsuit I'm very curious I'm trying to mind my
own business but I'm curious I got a look and so I look I swear to God he's
looking at my book what do you do with that what's the protocol do you ask him
before you turn the page I had no idea but I'm very very curious so I went
ahead and I wrists a full-on look to the hundreds of people in this massive jumbo
jet I got up a little bit and I looked back you know what I saw I saw something
that amazed me I saw the strongest outpouring of
positive nonverbal support for me that I had ever seen in my entire life I didn't
know a soul and they weren't saying anything but you know how some people
without saying anything can speak volumes with a look hundreds of eyeballs
looking right at me like hang in there man you can do this and I started to
believe they were right everything was gonna work out just fine I found out
later what happened my bosses in first class he saw this weird thing the
government had forced it upon us at the last second he also saw that there was
one unsold seat right there in first class and because the rules back in the
day were far far more loosey-goosey they just had the right conversations which
resulted in the lead flight attendant walking through the pour portal bending
over the marshal and the felon and saying to me sir I apologize for the
delay but your spot in first class is ready
I grabbed my stuff and I did that weird thing where you try not to touch someone
on a plane you know and I'm standing there I'm right in front of the poor
portal I've got to walk into the land a cushy seat and decent scotch but I
stopped myself because before I did that I thought it proper to say goodbye to my
friends so I turned her around one more time what do you think I saw this time
took about 30 seconds for their view of me to turn completely on its head the
positivity was gone they looked at me with laser-like eyes of disgust and
betrayal how dare you leave us back here with that man popularity is a joke it's
fleeting it's fickle it comes and goes so what the real goal if you want to be
a better version of yourself is to make the right call for yourself for your
team for your organization execute with integrity and are in long-term the one
thing always better which is real respect