digdeep

We don’t go running away from our values, we go drifting away. And one day we wake up in a place we never meant to be, drifting in a direction we never would have chosen. I originally wrote these words at a table in a Starbucks while writing my book Good to the Core. I had no idea they would become the most called out words of the book, although I suppose I should have sensed it just from my own life’s journey.

I was recently asked by a friend to speak to his leadership class of eighth-grade boys. It wasn’t my typical corporate audience of executives and so I was a bit apprehensive whether these middle schoolers would find my message on core values interesting or relevant. I wasn’t prepared for the depth of their engagement or for the wisdom of one particular student in the closing question/answer session. He posed a thoughtful and brilliant question to which I was certain he had already figured out the answer. He said, “Mr. Blumberg, do you think other people see you drifting before you see it yourself?”  I would urge every leader to remember his question. I think we all know the answer.

We don't go running away from our values, we go drifting away. Click To Tweet

How would you have responded to his question?  Share your thoughts in the comments below!