Decisions Are Made by Those Who Show Up

Show Up or Shut Up

Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash

Decisions Are Made by Those Who Show Up.

This should be such an obvious statement; self-evident, as I will quote in a bit. But it doesn’t seem to be the case. Some show up and make the decisions, and some don’t show up and complain about the decisions being made.

“What they should have done was…”

Decisions Are Made by Those Who Show Up.

I first heard this statement about twenty years ago on an episode of West Wing. It was about when I was leaving one job and heading to another, full of hope and optimism. A fresh start. A new company.

This time it will be different.

Or so I thought until the first meeting. Where decisions were made. But there was always someone who couldn’t show up. Typically, the owner’s sons. Or the owner herself. Who would then complain about the decisions made and usually reverse them.

I remember the beginning of the job before that. There were weekly meetings of the department heads across two separate companies, one a parent of the other. I should have been in that meeting, but my predecessor had bowed out so often, they didn’t include my position. But there was a new sheriff in town, and I made it a point that I should be in that meeting.

What was I thinking?

There were ten chairs around that conference room and, typically, no more than eight asses in them. The other two were ‘too busy,’ doing Really Important Stuff. But the aftermath of the meetings was chaos as two and three-person meetings were held. A bloodless coup. Decisions were reversed by those too important to show up.

Fast forward twenty years. I’m retired and moved into a lovely little community full of terrific people. Once construction was complete, the new HOA was formed, and I was courted to be one of the founding members of the new board. I had been involved with HOAs in the past and swore I never would again.

But this time, it would be different.

What was I thinking?

Five people making decisions for the 150 who wanted us to represent them. Voted for us. Put their faith in us.