Live Every Day as Though it Were Your Last

One of the principles I base my life on comes from both ancient wisdom and from a line in a movie I loved. It is this: Live every day as though it were your last, for one day you are sure to be right.

Now, this is intended to apply to our lives as a whole and to our deaths when they come, but I also believe in applying this maxim to leadership.

You see, a good leader says what needs to be said and says it so effectively and consistently that if he or she were suddenly removed from their role, their imprint would already be made, their wisdom already given. This is one of the ways good leaders know that they are doing their jobs.

An example from my own life. I led an organization years ago and loved most every minute of it. Because I had a good team, we labored to think through every part of that firm, to hire the best people, and to build on best practices and the best wisdom we had.

Then, because of a family situation, I had to leave. It was agonizing and disorienting. I quickly found myself in a bit of panic about the organization I had loved and wanted to see survive well after I was gone. How could I help it continue? What could I do to assure that the wisdom my team and I had used in leading would live on?

Then it hit me. I had said everything I needed to say. I had for years talked to individuals, given reviews, and expressed fully my perspective for the people on my team. I had also spoken without hesitation about the dysfunctions I had inherited and the problems that, if not addressed, would prevent success. I had, as they say in sports, left everything on the field so far as speaking truth and saying what I needed to say.

I could leave—even in horrible personal circumstances—and be at peace that I had fulfilled my purpose and given the best wisdom I had. I did not conclude this haughtily, but rather as the result of an honest evaluation of my leadership gifts and flaws while serving at that firm.

That moment has become a standard for me in my years of leadership since. To state it over-dramatically, I ask myself that if I die in my sleep tonight, have I given the best of my perspective, understanding, gifts, and wisdom up to this point?

I want you to think this way about what you lead. Think over all your team, all your departments, all your interactions with your board or bosses. Are you current? Have you said what needs to be said? Have you left your imprint? If you died tonight, does everyone in all that you lead know who they are, where they are going, and how to get there because you have spoken, led, inspired, taught, and shown the way?

If you can say yes, then you are leading well. If not, you know what to do. I know you’ll get to it. By the way, I recommend the same process for our families. Does that son know how much you love him, what wisdom you have for him as a young father, and what forces in his soul he might want to keep an eye on—all because you’ve gently led the way? How about the others in your family?

This is what it means to think Leading Thoughts. Go to it! I’m proud of you.