Jim Huston: Winning advice

Jim Huston

In today’s culture of fast food, instant messaging, overnight success and constant contact, information overload tends to create a clutter that clouds our personal radar screens. This constant bombardment of images often causes us to lose perspective. It’s like trying to piece together the pieces of a puzzle without having the box top to show us what the end product looks like. Good luck. Too much information seems to be the norm. Whether what we see and hear is true – an accurate depiction of reality – seems secondary or tertiary as the modern media rushes to splash incongruous images in front of us 24/7. Freedom of information has been replaced by flooding of information. The sad and irrelevant are often replaced by the bizarre and absurd. We are relieved to be rid of the saga of Charlie Sheen only to have it replaced by the tragic events of Anthony Weiner and his demise.

Modernity’s loss of perspective
One of the tragic casualties of modernity is the loss of perspective. Data have replaced knowledge. Knowledge has replaced wisdom. Moderns tell us that timeless truths are obsolete relics. Ancient wisdom and ageless principles are oxymorons, they say. Principles that transcend the space-time continuum (the universe) simply do not exist. They are man-made fabrications from a by-gone era. All is relative, we are told. The fact that the very statement “all is relative” is self-contradictory and self-defeating seems to have escaped the modern mind.

James Dean, the ultimate American Icon
While the pursuit of instant success of those competing on American Idol is pushed upon us, perhaps James Dean, actor and ultimate American icon, perceived things a bit differently. Confused and youthful as he was – he died at age 24 in a car accident – he was on to an important truth. “What is essential is invisible to the eye,” a quotation from Antoine de Saint Exupery’s “The Little Prince” was his favorite. Principles, he was beginning to realize, provided the foundation upon which all else rested.

Juxtaposing some popular diverse terms may bring this concept into sharper focus. For instance, knowledge compared to wisdom, fame versus success, success versus significance, image versus substance, fad versus trend and popularity versus character, to name a few. Fleeting superficialities cannot compete with the longevity of character.

How it works in today’s economy. The challenges of the current economic cycle have placed tremendous burdens upon all entrepreneurs and their staff. The temptation is to cut corners and lower standards in order to compete. Certainly, adjustments can be made to better serve clients and compete with competitors. However, lowering standards isn’t one of them.

Contractors who are working their way through the current economic malaise and will survive are doing it based upon their reputation for excellent work and customer service. Such a reputation is the result of years of performance and dependability. This is called character! Quick fixes, instant gratification and popularity contests are not the stuff that create or sustain it.


Conclusion
It takes about 20 years to become an overnight success. Somewhere along the way, I heard this maxim. It runs counter to most of the popular thoughts that you’ll experience and hear via today’s media. However, behind just about every successful small business, you’ll find a seasoned entrepreneur who has weathered numerous challenges over a long period of time.

This is one of the best pieces of wisdom that I’ve picked up over the years. It provides perspective – a box top of sorts – for the puzzle that life and the media is constantly throwing our way. It’s a tidbit that I repeat to my three sons and clients as often as possible. It’s one that you might want to pass along as well.

JIM HUSTON runs J.R. Huston Consulting, a green industry consulting firm. See www.jrhuston.biz; mail jhuston@giemedia.com.