LTYM - He Made Budget

Letters to a Young Manager

He Made Budget, #333
LTYM > Legacy

Dear Adam,

***

"What do you want your legacy to be?" may be question that has little meaning for you right now. However, it's a relevant question for each project, assignment and position you undertake. What do you want to be remembered in each? [1]

Asking the “legacy” question is also an important leadership exercise. In the end, what do I want my, and my team’s, work to be about?

I remember a story Tom Peter’s told about a recurring nightmare [2]. It was a full moon, and he was walking into a graveyard. The moonlight was shining on a tombstone. It was his. On the tombstone was carved “he made budget”. He woke up startled. He did not want that to be his epitaph; neither did I.

So what would you want carved in each project and job you completed? This becomes more important the older you get, when your agenda tips from success to significance, as Bob Buford says.[3] Then the legacy question becomes more focused in the moonlight.

***

Sincerely,
Ed

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[1] For me, my answer is: he made connections for good.
[2] From Oct-2009 Blog entry, Panels, Speeches and Leadership" and comments on my keynote presentation at the CCITDG Conference, “Making a Difference in Interesting Times,” UK, October 8, 2009. I posted my slides on my web site.

Takeaways:

Will your legacy be about success or significance?

Discussion Questions:

1) When will your agenda shift from success to significance?
2) When is the next salary increase less important than the things you want to work on?
3) How important is earning the freedom to create and innovate to you?
4) Are these relevant questions for your work or not?

For Further Reading:

[3] Bob P. Buford, Halftime: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance, Zondervan; 1 edition (May 4, 1997). While I don't agree with the author's theological context, his premise and psychology resonates.