A lesson in patience …

Like the rest of Penn State’s illustrious alumni I was in blue and white heaven this weekend when the Lion’s blowout victory against Michigan State gave us the Big 10 East title.

After years of controversy following the revelations about Jerry Sandusky, finally there is some good news about the football program.

But the tale of this year’s team and more importantly their head coach is a lesson in personnel patience.

After a 2-2 start, many Penn State fans and boosters were calling for head coach James Franklin to be fired. The call for firing wasn’t because Franklin is a bad coach; he has a respectable 24-14 record over 3 seasons as the Penn State head coach. Franklin’s issue is one that many of us in the corporate world face – impatience of stakeholders.

Like the Lion’s record during the first two seasons, solid is no longer acceptable in the business world. Focusing on long-term growth isn’t rewarded as much as short-term profitability. Wall street commands returns today, much like the boosters command wins now. While this thinking may satisfy those who need to drive immediate returns, what it doesn’t do is built continuity, which leads to long-term success. Amazon spent years doing this to perfection, always focused on long-term strategic growth, without sub coming to the pressure of driving short-term profitability. Amazon now dominates the way people shop, they believed in their vision and were patient with their progress.

So before you begin to write off anyone in your organization who is just “solid”, ask yourself with a little patience and continuity, could this person help your organization build long term success? Before you write off any strategy or initiative are you sure you’ve done your due diligence and evaluated the opportunity to drive long-term success?

Fortunately for Nittany Lions fans the university and athletic department saw fit to be a little patient with coach Franklin after the 2-2 start this year. Fortunately for the entire university community this patience paid off with eight straight wins and a Big Ten East title.

WE ARE PENN STATE!!!!

Share your thoughts or push back if you disagree – lamont@digitalsince99.com , @digitalSince99