As I sit in my warm house on a blistery cold morning, my heart is so full from our company Christmas party. It was an event that in my mind was a true reflection of the nature and love of God. I reflect on how incredible my work family is and is becoming at DSC. In doing so we have learned and relearned some very valuable lessons that will guide us into 2023.
1. Where there is structure there is freedom. Still rule #1. This is a phrase I coined several years ago and still proves to be true. A key part of our structure at DSC is our Accountability Chart. To most, it looks like an organizational chart. But it is much more than that. In 2022, our Accountability Chart served us incredibly well. 2023 challenges will be different than 2022 challenges thus we are well underway in making revisions to the Accountability Chart that will allow us to be more nimble, build on the high-level trust within DSC, and better serve our stakeholders.
The same goes for the Dow Smith Way. What a wonderful living and breathing guide this has become to us. We have great structure in this document, but I love how this is creating wonderful organic conversations and questions. So many people are adapting this to their current context. And that is exactly what structure will do: guide us to freedom.
2. “If you’ve got to eat a turd, don’t nibble at it.” A repeated lesson relearned. Not all decisions that I made last year were good ones. Some were just outright mistakes. Accept what went wrong and move on with the business of correcting it as soon as possible. It is my hope that in 2023, I will spend less time defending what is messed up and be quicker in fixing what is messed up. No one is perfect but I can strive to be sanctified.
3. Self-care is not being selfish. I took a 30-day sabbatical in 2022. It was amazing, to say the least. I relearned that through rest I can be renewed. Recreation does just that. It provides a new creation. In 2023, I will be taking regular rests, and playing with friends and family.
4. Pain will either transform me or I will transmit it. Life is 99% wonderful but that 1% can really hurt! If I allow hurt and disappointment to become unresolved resentment, I will transmit that to everyone else that I have contact with. But if I recognize the pain and do what it takes to get it resolved, there will be healing. I should add that all healing will involve recognizing and leaning on the love of Christ. And most struggles will probably be a lifetime struggle. I also remind myself that we all were made with “original goodness”. What God made in Genesis 1 was real good. And still is. In 2023, I plan to focus on my original goodness and less energy on the “original sin” in Genesis 3.
5. The less I do, the more things get done. Maybe a better way of saying this is the fewer roles I try to fill, the more efficient I am. This may have been the biggest lesson I learned in 2022. I am really good at a few things, but most things can be done better by someone else. In 2023, I am going to be intentional in staying in my lane and trusting those around me to operate in their lane.
6. Simple-minded lizard-brain thinking will not resolve most questions and issues. It’s a complicated world with complicated people. 3rd-grade thinking and training can only go so far. Continuous learning AND contemplation are so critical. In 2023, I need to learn more about myself, my industry, and trends in the marketplace.
7. Gratitude is vital. Gratitude is “mission critical.” In 2023, I plan to cultivate and grow in gratitude. The Christian philosopher Paul Tillich wrote, “We are not separated from the ever-active presence of God, and we can become aware of it in every moment.” As I said earlier, 99% of life is wonderful – and it’s true that 1% can really hurt. But let’s not let the 1% overwhelm us so much that we fail to acknowledge the wonder all around us. Taking a few minutes to stop and smell the roses each day isn’t a bad thing—and it makes us better off when we have to eat a turd.
8. Faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love. All 3 are so important but if what we do is not rooted in love, it is all meaningless. And our creator and maker desires for us to have a meaningful and purpose-filled life.
It is my vision that DSC continues to be an organization that reflects God’s nature (the maker and creator of this very large universe who entered this earth in human form from an area not held in high regard, spent most of his time with the those on the outside and fringes, who didn’t accept stone hearted Pharisee teachings, prepared a fish fry for breakfast for scared hungry fisherman, is resurrected, gave us this strange and misunderstood gift called Spirit) in 2023 and beyond. That our employees, clients, subcontractors, suppliers, associates and all that have contact with DSC can see, feel and touch God’s love and care.
