Think big! Have a plan! Take some risk!

Live fully every day!

I can remember when I first came to Williams Company 33 years ago that we were doing about $15M in annual revenues. Thinking big was getting to $25M in revenue, and so we did that, and then the big goal was $5OM, and we did that, and then it was $100M, and we did that, and then it was $200M, and we did that! 

Do you see where I'm going with this? In the river of life, unless we are fighting hard against the current every year to grow, then we are going backwards. And even though our boat will sometimes have waves crashing over our bow because of economic realities, our focus on growth and progress are what will keep us fresh and vibrant over the long term! 

Seeking growth means we will be bringing in new talent and new technologies. It means new clients and new subcontractors. It means we will venture into new regions and new market types. It means new leaders will emerge to guide us into the future! It means change, big changes, will occur in the future! 

If there is one constant in the world, it's change. Brace yourselves for a fantastic ride here at Williams Company! 

Proper balance in life can be very important to maintaining a stable life. We all are blessed with 168 hours each week, and so how you spend these hours is important. I'm an 8 hour a night sleeper, so that leaves me 112 waking hours. If we work and commute another 5O hours, that leaves us 62 hours a week to pursue a balanced life. I have listed below some basic categories: 

• Fitness and physical activity
• Family
• Social
• Financial
• Civic
• Spiritual
• Purpose
• Hobbies

This is a basic list, but you get the picture. Are you aware that the average American spends 35 hours of screen time (TV, computer, social media) outside of work each week? We all could spend a bit more time on planning our finances for retirement, starting a new hobby, reading a good book, walking for exercise or practicing our faith. 

Balance in life takes some planning. All of us get out of balance at times. Take a minute and put how many hours each week you spend in each category. How's your balance? It has been my experience that the more balance your life has, the happier and healthier your life will be! 

Consistency. It is one of the most elusive characteristics of all. To be consistently good at anything, for extended periods of time, is incredibly difficult! Think Alabama football, IBM, Ford, Target, Home Depot and Patagonia. All these organizations have a pedigree of being very good at what they do, for very long periods of time. 

That's why this chart that was presented in last week's State of the Company Address is so important to our culture. Out of 8 client surveys we received in the third quarter, we received one "9" and everything else was a "10"! We also got our first "12" and "14". This is incredibly hard to do year after year! Each project had different Williams Company personnel on them, but the results were the same throughout! Our teams delivered incredible service to our clients and they recognized it! 

Stay focused! This is highly unusual and is the differentiator from our competition! 

When Nobody Was Looking 

It happened after store hours last month in Wayne, New Jersey. Four football players - three black and one white - came into a Buddy's Small Lots and started shopping. Then it dawned on them that there was no clerk. With such easy pickings, surveillance cameras rather than human eyes tell what they did. 

They found the items they were searching for and started for the door. But they weren't making a run for it. Quite the contrary! They stopped at the checkout counter, calculated the total of their items, and pulled out $5.80 from their pockets - the total for the items, plus tax. Still with no one in sight, one of them turned to a prominent surveillance camera over the cash register, waved the money at the camera, and laid it on the counter. 

"We were down there for ten minutes, looking for someone," one later reported. "We thought everybody was in the back on break." Then the four young men left the store and headed for football practice at William Paterson University. 

The episode was soon reported on News 12 New Jersey, and the video of their after-hours honesty went viral. Then the story was picked up by several news outlets. 

You see, the store was supposed to be closed and locked. But the door lock apparently malfunctioned. Consistent with store policy, lights had been left on inside for the sake of security. So four guys looking to purchase something had walked through an unlocked door into a lighted store building. They assumed it was open for business - and could have tried to take advantage of the situation. 

By the way, before heading to practice, they went next door and reported to an all-night pharmacy that Buddy's appeared abandoned, although the door was unlocked and open. The police were called and the "burglaryll was investigated. But the store's surveillance camera had caught a case of honesty instead! 

When the young men were identified, Buddy's operations manager called their coach and asked to meet them. "We thought we were definitely in trouble!" said one. He wondered if they had committed a crime by going into a building that was supposed to be closed for business. The caller, Marci Lederman, just wanted to compliment and thank the four - and give them some gift certificates. 

In a time of steroids in sports, murder by bored athletes, and on-the-field brawls, a story about character and integrity should make us feel good. So thanks to Jelani Bruce, Anthony Biondi, Thomas James, and Kell'E Gallimore for reminding us that honesty really is the best policy. The only right policy. 

Your reputation is merely what others think of you; your character is what you do when you think nobody is looking.

Rubel Shelly 

Preacher and Professor of Religion and Philosophy

 I received a nice handwritten thank you note from Sofia last week. I had recently supported her Girl Scout effort, and she was kind enough to say thank you in writing! Charisse is doing a great job of instilling the value of gratitude to her daughter! 

I think everyone enjoys being appreciated, and we should never hesitate to thank someone for a job well done. I once had an attorney tell me that you should never put a thank you, or any kind of praise, in writing because it may come back to haunt you. How ridiculous is that! I have always felt that we need to thank those who are helping us get the job done. That could be a fellow teammate, a subcontractor, a foreman, an architect, an engineer, even a building official or fire marshal! Sounds crazy, right! Well, it has been my experience that when you tell someone in writing that you appreciate them, it creates a positive bond between you and them. 

The art of writing a good thank you note has become somewhat of a lost art. You should give it a try. Write your Mom, your Dad, a sibling or a friend a nice note telling them you appreciate them. Send it via snail mail. I'm willing to bet you they will be surprised and pleased with the gift of gratitude you have expressed to them! 

Try putting an attitude of gratitude in your life! You will be amazed at how it changes you, and the people around you! 

Personal responsibility was something that my parents instilled in me at an early age. By the time I went off to college my parents wanted me to be physically, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually and financially ready for the world, as much as an 18-year-old can be. My wife Chris and I had the same goal for our two daughters. I have a good friend who says most of the world's problems are caused by bad parenting, or no parenting at all for those who may not have a mother or father. I think there is a lot of truth to that. 

It seems we live in a nation of victims. There's always someone to blame for our circumstances, someone to blame for us not getting the proper education, not having any faith, not being able to make a good living or have a good job, not having a good marriage, not having good relationships with others, not being able to stay fit and healthy. It always someone else's fault, the government, the left, the right, your mother, your father, your siblings. You get the picture. 

Well, for all those people, I say ... take a good look in the mirror. There is only one person in the world you have full control over ... it's you! You are the CEO of your life. You're ultimately responsible for your well-being. Certainly, we all experience challenges each day, but I find the folks who take full responsibility for their actions as they deal with a tough world, are the happiest and the healthiest. 

This message was inspired by the following. At the completion of each project we ask the project manager and superintendent to give feed back on every subcontractor that was on their project. The evaluation is sent to the owner of the company and it is meant to give feedback on how they did. Here is the response we got back last week from Prodigy Flooring in Tampa. 

Thank you for the past few years of partnership. It has been a great opportunity and is sincerely appreciated. Not only for Prodigy Flooring, but for me and my family as well. I would like to take a moment to address the attached evaluation that we received. I am embarrassed by our lack of performance on this job. We failed to man up when needed and we did a poor job managing quality control. I take full responsibility for the problems we encountered on this job. As an account manager, it is my job to see issues before they come to fruition and implement measures to stop them before they happen. My job is to make your job easier and I do not feel like I accomplished my job. I sincerely apologize. This evaluation is completely understood, and Prodigy will do everything in our power to ensure nothing like this happens again. Your success is our priority.

Wow! This guy gets it! In a world of excuses and "it's not my fault", it is refreshing to see and an individual and a company say "That's on me. We will do better"!