Flying home from TV and live show pitch meetings in Toronto last week, I tucked away all my notes and other stuff I planned to read and used the hour for something different and necessary--pure reflection.
And in those 60 minutes of engine-hum bliss, I asked myself one question:
"What do you do for a living?"
Yeah, I know I'm the President of Just For Laughs Festivals and TV, but what does that mean?
All Rhetoric and PR and kidding and job description and contract aside, what does a President of this company really do? What does a President of any company--or country for that matter--HAVE to do?
The answer was three-fold. As far as I've seen it at Just For Laughs (and at Airborne Mobile, where I spent the last 11 years in a similar position), a President's job is comprised of a triumvirate of tasks:
1--Vision
2--Action
3--Reaction
Vision is the foresight to see what's ahead, and the planning to take advantage of it.
Action encompasses the tactics and movements needed to achieve this vision, which includes everything from motivating the staff to making the most mundane of decisions.
Reaction is the response to the unexpected problems (lots of 'em) and opportunities (not enough of 'em) that arise on a continual basis.
So far, pretty basic stuff. Three slices of a pie.
My "real" realization was what makes a successful President, and ultimately a successful company...namely the relative sizes of the pie's slices.
Go with me on this.
To me, the "Optimum Slice Distribution" would be 30% Vision, 55% Action and 15% Reaction:
- About one-third of your time would be spent thinking, pondering, learning, questioning, dreaming and planning.
- About one-sixth would be putting out fires or (better still, but I know the reality) jumping on new opportunities.
- And about half would be actually carrying out and carrying on.
To me, that would be a responsible use of time, would provide enough intellectual and adrenalinal stimulation, and make the job fun.
To be very frank, I'd say my job today is about 20% Vision (adequate, but not enough), 40% Action (as Springsteen sang "Mama, that's where the fun is") and 40% Reaction (yeah, I know it's a time-based and deadline-based world I live in, but this sector is dangerously over-weighted).
So, I suppose that hour-long contemplative flight may bump up the Vision part to 20.5%. And it mos' def sparked this week's learning, namely...I gotta take longer flights.
Seriously though, as the rush begins (June and July are the two toughest months of my year), I have to remember that this job ain't an easy one, but at least I know how to make it better....both for me, and my colleagues.
It all depends on how I slice it.
And if I choose to add ice cream ;)