I finally wrapped up President George W. Bush’s book, Decision Points.  I say “finally” as I am, unfortunately, a slow reader.  Nevertheless, I loved this book every time I picked it up as I always got something out of it.  One of the biggest things I learned about President Bush (who I will affectionately refer to as “W”), is that he is an incredibly smart man.  I have always believed that W had to be a smart guy – he has an MBA so I knew there was no way he was the “dummy” popular public perception wanted you to believe.  “Popular” perception can often times be wrong, as the case here.  W is very thoughtful, a deep thinker, and as the book shows can come up with sharp, articulated plans based on his, and his alone, ultimate decisions.

Some other takeaway’s I got from this book that I know will bolster me personally include:

1) Listen to all the angles / seek advice from trusted advisors - W is not a “Lone Cowboy.”  He worked hard to build relationships with people he knew he could trust.

2) Make a Plan – He collected all the input he could from people he trusted and always put together a plan.  W purposely titled the book “Decision Points” because he specifically collected all the times he was faced with issues and methodically showed you how he came to a decision.  These decisions always came with a plan.

3) Execute – W did not just make up plans and walk away.  He put people in charge of these plans and followed up with them to assure progress was made.  If the plan needed to be revised, it did not bother him in the least; it didn’t bruise his ego or pride – he just wanted to get the job done.

“Didn’t bruise his ego or pride” is a great way to close.  W is a very humble man.  Deep in his Faith, he shows very clearly that he took every decision very personally, giving credit to the people on the team when things work, and taking full responsibility, as well as very personally, when they didn’t.  He cares greatly about the people who serve in the military and grieves when one is lost.  I have always loved W, but have a full new respect for him after reading this book.  This book will really inspire the reader about the true way to get things done.

Some people have said to me “well, that’s because they are making up for the loss they were suffering when the price originally moved up.â€? However, I do not buy that as, from my casual observation point, the price at the pump went up immediately as the price of crude and wholesale gas went up; for example – when the world started getting nervous about Iran.

I am not a conspiracy person by any stretch of the imagination. Yet, when I see things like this I do have to wonder if there is someone (the retailers?) that is behind this. However, instead of it being a “conscience conspiracy,� I am thinking that this is more of an un-conscience thing. An event happens (Iran rattles its so called sword, capacity problems, etc.), and so a retailer raises their prices in anticipation. Then, other retailers notice that the competition raised their price, so they raise their’s just out of standard business practices. Then, maybe the first one notices that the other retailer raised their price, so they raise theirs. And on, and on, and on…. As everyday this week I watched prices go up all over town – yet, the world markets are not.

As you drive around, look at the prices and listen to the news. Watch and see if you notice the same thing. Then, consider being concerned, as this will affect us a lot more than other things that have been on fire in the news, i.e., immigration.

As my friends and associates know, I believe heavily in Personal Responsibility. I have always felt that way. My motto for our team at the last place I worked was PP&R for Professionalism, Proactive & Responsibility. “Responsibility” as a philosophy and integrating it into one’s life really all came together for me after reading Steven Covey’s book (I highly recommend it!). If you take responsibility (or as Covey says, you become “response – able”) for your own life, your actions, and the actions of the organization — things will happen and push you toward personal productivity and effectiveness. This is as opposed to not taking responsibility, where in the end, thingswill fall apart.

I was just talking to my wife about this. She asked (in response to a school project I’m doing), “Do you think customer service really can have an ultimate impact on a company’s success?” I said “Yes!” in as resounding way I could. Seth’s article provides a great example.

Side Note: Seth goes on in his post to say:

“The problem with accepting responsibility, though, is that you can be too glib about it. A lot of responsibility taking in today’s newspaper for example…”

He then mentions Vice President Dick Cheney takingresponsibility for the shooting accident. I can not quite tell if Seth is saying that the Vice President is being “glib” about this or not. I wanted to state, for the record, that I’ve always been very impressed with Dick Cheney and I do not think he is being “glib” in any way, shape or form. It was an accident and he takes full responsibility for it. Period. No gloating, no “look at me,” just pure responsibility. I hope my kids grow up to be like him, and like me.

In a post on his blog today, I think he nails the healthcare issue.

STOP … using the term “healthcare.”
START … using the term “health.”

Amen, but, boy, that’s going to be a hard paradigm shift for our society.