June 5, 2019
This week, a friend of mine was on a business trip to Memphis. While there, he attempted to make a U-Turn and in the process clipped another car. In between the time of the accident and the arrival of the police he spent the time poring through Google to try to find something, in writing, to prove that his driving maneuver was legal. He believed he had. Then the law showed up, and promptly informed him that U-Turns are never allowed anywhere, at any time in the city of Memphis. Once committed to a particular direction, turning back can become problematic.
And that’s the point for the week.
Joe found that out the hard way. I’m certain that most of us have too. We’ve learned that giving up and turning around rarely solves anything; it simply leads to a new set of problems, like it did for my friend in Memphis.
We have committed to a new direction here. We wrote it down on a card. I made a few promises to you the day we decided to head in that new way: that not every day would be easy, that we’d go there together; and that the lives of all of you would be better when we got there.
I can also promise you that there will be no U-Turns.
We aren’t turning back. We won’t give up on making this place safer. We won’t quit on building a culture of winning and mutual respect. We’ll never relent in our pursuit of growth. We won’t ever stop looking for better, faster, cheaper and more customer-friendly ways to do things. And we must be like dogs on a bone when it comes to reducing the size of our inventory.
Those who changed the course of human history were not familiar with the U-Turn. George Washington, Churchill, my hero Moses to name a few. These folks accomplished great things by ever moving forward, regardless of adversity, because they knew, above all, that life for those they had responsibility for would improve on the other side of their cause.
So, whether here, at home, or in your communities, remember, there are no U-Turns allowed.
Drive always forward.
And win.
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