Lessons I Learned from Arthur Greeno: Part I
As Arthur says, “Always Learn!” I am privileged to be able to spend one-on-one time with Arthur Greeno and when I do, I listen. Now, if you ask him he would say; “no she doesn’t, she talks too much!” But I promise I listen.
I would like to share a few of my “learned lessons” with you.
Lesson #1: Learn
Everlasting education makes Arthur a perpetual life student. He is always reading and listening, whether it’s a book, article, blogs, podcasts or just meeting with people, he is always learning. I can tell you I have learned more from Arthur in the past two years than I have over the course of twenty plus years of employment. There are plenty of items that stand out but a few are; design work, efficient event planning and setting things on fire. Yes, I did just say setting things on fire.
Arthur always shares his resources with me as well as those he mentors. I have a newly acquired signed book from Lee Cockerell; former Executive Vice President of Operations for Walt Disney World Resorts, do you have one? He introduced me to Thrive15.com, the world’s premier online education platform that helps entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, and “in-trepreneurs” (entrepreneurial-minded people who work within an organization) learn how to start or grow a successful business. So never stop learning! You should always be “upgrading” you work-life skills. You should always want to remain relevant with the demands of current technology.
Lesson #2: Serving others
Arthur is constantly serving others and he teaches and even encourages his team members and employees to engage in that same practice. Parts of Arthur’s training practices include ways to make the guests experience in his restaurants,”ReMarkable,” from acts of service to giving away free food. He truly believes and lives up to Chick-fil-A’s motto “Every Life Has a Story.” Arthur often serves his family, friends, team members and community. What can you do today to serve your fellow-man?
Lesson #3: Follow Through (commitment)
Quoting Arthur, “don’t be a 90% “er” . His definition of a 90% “er” is someone who has exceptional drive at the beginning of a project or task with mastery yet stops at 90%. “Why invest in the work if you aren’t going to finish?” Imagine what you can accomplish if you just finished your task? You may have failures along the way. However, you will learn from those failures. Quoting Arthur again, “Failure is always an option, just don’t let it be.”
Lesson #4: Communication
Communication is essential to a good working relationship. There are numerous problems that can arise with inconsistent or bad communication. Even too much information can complicate even the best leadership. As a busy leader, Arthur doesn’t need all the unnecessary information; he needs a bottom line version of the facts. More often, our personal and work life communication uses text messaging, e-mailing and social media venues. So, it is extremely important to convey a professional tone at all times.
Lesson #5: Be A Duck
I had a co-worker once tell me to be like a duck. You may have heard the expression, “water off a duck’s back.” This is exactly what I think of when I listen to Arthur explain how to recover. At times, there may be conflict in your work life and more so in your personal life. It’s important to resolve conflict quickly and move on. Even my Yoda Master, Arthur and I have had conflicts but we resolve them and move on. It is also important to “let it go.” Harboring any ill will towards a co-worker will only strain the relationship more.
Being an assistant is the hardest, most rewarding job I have ever had. Arthur allows me to learn and grow. I have met incredibly gifted people who offer an extraordinary amount of insight and talent. Mark Collier at BigBlueDesigns has taught me a great deal about many social media platforms and Clarence Fisher is always available for questions regarding my new venture, SEO Optimization. To me, that’s the greatest perk in my job. The most important thing I have learned from Arthur is that leadership does not have a time-clock or a job description and leadership is not limited to your professional life. You lead in various capacities of your life. I am honored to be able to learn leadership skills from Arthur and gain experience from many other talented individuals.
// The Assistant Chronicles