Monday Morning Insights

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    Lessons for Brett Favre

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    B.) No one is irreplaceable. Not even a Super Bowl-winning MVP who had a great year last year. Someone can/will take your place. To be sure, they will probably fail. The Packer fans will forget you ever threw an interception when Aaron Rogers throws his first. The most popular guy on any football team is the backup quarterback or the quarterback who just retired. It’s hard to compete with ghosts or legends.

    C.) When you retire/quit or even threaten to do so, as you have done for three years running, you lose your leverage. Your best bargaining power is when you are fully engaged and when everyone thinks you are fully committed. The second you tell someone it is time to move on, you lose your leverage. Brett; you want to call your shots. It is too late for that. It’s the Bucs or the Jets. The Packers are not letting you move to Minnesota so you can break their hearts twice a year.

    2. How you leave a place will be the image that will stay in people’s minds once you are gone.

    There’s much more that you can read here at EthicsDaily.com.

    What do you think?

    Many of you, I know, have been following the saga of Brett Favre over the past couple of weeks. Well, the news came down last week that Favre is now a New York Jet. All this has prompted one pastor to write an open letter to Farve that he wrote as both a reminder to Favre and a hopeful admonition to his own kids about jobs and careers. Much of what he has to say is really good...

    1. Never threaten to quit/retire unless you are sure you are ready to quit/retire. You just might find that your bosses are willing to let you go.

    There are several corollaries that go along with this.

    A.) Never quit a job unless you have a paying gig lined up. "Take this job and shove it" might have made a charming honky-tonk song, but it is stupid advice. Someone has to pay the bills. Obviously Brett, you don't need the money, but you must need something. Is it the limelight? Is it the only way to satisfy your competitive "Jones?" You should have thought about what you would do without football. You didn't have a plan, and now you are in a mess.

    Comments

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    1. Wendi on Mon, August 11, 2008

      I don’t think 1A should say NEVER.  Twice I’ve been in situations where I knew obedience required me to resign without any idea what was next (I’m older than most of you readers), once in a secular job and once in ministry.  There are times when there is something about which you have a moral or ethical dissonance.  In this case staying until you get your ducks in a row could make you complicit in the very thing you find unethical.  There are times there is a passion, mission or vision mismatch.  In this case, staying until you get your ducks in a row could be unhealthy for you, the organization or both.


      Also, as a past HR director, a comment about job hunting.  While you cannot always let your current employer know you are looking, be sure you can hold your head high when you leave.  You may be very unhappy with your employer, feel they are unfair.  You may even think your work environment is hostile.  Nothing gives you permission to be dishonorable or shortchange your current employer.  You should only do tasks related to your job search (e-mails, web searching, phone calls) from work if absolutely necessary.  If at all possible, schedule interviews outside of your regular work hours.  If you are honest with your perspective employer that you are trying to be honorable to your current employer’s expectations, you will earn the respect of the prospect (believe me, I’ve been that over the years for hundreds of prospective employees.)  The best thing you can do to retain a good reputation (and honor the Lord) is to finish a job well.


      Hope you are all relaxed Todd.


      Wendi

    2. Dave Z on Mon, August 11, 2008

      I don’t buy the whole ethics thing.  The man can change his mind.  I really dislike the charges of selfishness and the insinuation that Brett thinks he is irreplaceable.  This stuff would fit right in on a watchdog site. 


      You know, maybe Brett just really loves to play.  His career would certainly suggest that.   There’s nothing wrong with enjoying playing football.   Age will bring his game to an end in the not-too-distant future.  Let him enjoy it while he can.


      And don’t forget this is about football!  No nations will rise or fall, no rivers will change their courses and it won’t affect the price of gas ... it’s a game.  Lighten up!


      Dave

    3. Chuck on Mon, August 11, 2008

      There are times to leave when you don’t have something lined up but God tells you it is time in every fiber of your being.  It is also true that one should never threaten anything…speak softly and walk firmly.  Too many politicians also suffer from the Farve syndrome, and when it is time to go, go gracefully, leave early, having people wish you could stay longer.  Isn’t that true in many cases?  In all other respects there is great wisdom in this article. 


      Sometimes when your feeling important, sometimes when your ego’s in bloom, sometimes when you think that your presence, awes everyone else in the room, take a bucket and fill it with water, stick your hand in up to the wrist, pull your hand out and the hole that’s remaining, is a measure of how you’ll be missed… The Indispensable Man by Saxon White Kessinger

    4. helen on Mon, August 11, 2008

      thank you dave

    5. Craig on Mon, August 11, 2008

      Let’s assume for a moment thet Brett retired of his own free will, which I’m not sure is a fact. But let’s say it is. He retired, he walked away and there were a few ways to handle it if he wanted to come back. I think had he just gone to practice the whole outcome would be different.


      However, it’s never just a game or just an little job. What we all do does have serious and sometimes life changing results on others. Look at some things we know about Brett coming back. Right away his family moves to New York. The QB for the Jets is released, which will probably lead to another release in Miami and so on. These are just a few things that we see right now. This doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have come back just because others were effected by it.


      When it comes to church and pastors when they resign or retire I have never seen the change their mind thing be a good thing. Something happens to those around them and they wonder when will they leave, I have pastor friends who have used the I’ll resign card to motive people around them. It always fails.


      Brett’s case, I’m no matter the outcome of this season I’m sure the owners of the Jets are thrilled to be selling more seats for their new stadium.


      Maybe this be a riminder to us all that the choices we make do have consequence for us and others.

    6. Ed Johnson on Tue, August 12, 2008

      I see another twist to this thread.  It is about being honest and keeping your word. 


      When you give you word that you are going to retire three times and break it over and over when given the chance to come back.


      I don’t fault the owners or coach at all.  They were honorable with him by taking him at his word.


      To bad, Bret didn’t keep his. 


      I agree resigning and coming back has a history of failure in most cases.

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