One thing is certain… we are in trying times.  And no matter what you try to do you keep running into multiple opinions from so many different perspectives.  Just when you decide you have a stance something else grabs your attention.

A couple of years ago, the leadership team decided to go on a journey at Dunagin Transport and pressed into their core values.  This sounds really simple, but let me be the first to tell you otherwise.  IF you really dig into what matters to you the most you will see what I mean.

Obstacle #1 – When we start talking about what we value we tend to take a trip to fantasy land.  Instead of writing down what matters, we like to write down what we wish mattered.  So it turns in to a gaol setting session of “aspiring values.”

Obstacle #2 – It’s very tempting to look around at others to see what matters to them.  This NEVER works.  Your values are not the high school quiz you weren’t prepared for…

Years ago I read a book that challenged how I was handling obstacles.  What I discovered is that the very best way to handle an obstacle is to go right at it.  If you try to dance around them, 9 times of out 10 you will come right back to where you started… hence, getting nowhere.

Here is what we discovered.  The only way to overcome the obstacles is to get very vulnerable.  A word that most business leaders will tell you to be careful with.  Here, we would suggest right the opposite.  If you want to get somewhere you have to first start with where you are.

So here’s where we are.  Honesty, Generosity, Respect, Unity.  These are the things that truly matter to us the most at Dunagin Transport.  We honor these.  We protect these.  We defend these.  And we make our decisions based upon these.  This does NOT make us perfect.  If anything, it just challenges us more.  We use these like a great coach would use at half-time of his most important game.  We consider them to be our fundamental core values.

I challenge you to dive into this process in your personal life.  Determine what truly matters to you the most.  What do you really care about?  What do you value?  Bring this practice into your home.  Ask your wife the same questions.  Let your children share what matters most to them.  Develop your own “house rules”.  Most importantly, honor them, protect them, defend them… and be prepared to change them somewhere along the way.

“You may not believe in what we believe in, but you cannot deny that we believe in what we believe in.”

Expect to Win,

Zach Vassar l Company Coach
coachvassar@gmail.com
Matthew 6:33