Some dear friends of ours come down from Oregon each year and sell Christmas trees. They work with the local high school, and the lot serves as a key fundraiser for the band. Due to a death in the family, they arrived late this year and needed some additional help unloading the truck (A huge Semi) on Thanksgiving Day morning, so two of my children and I worked up an appetite unloading trees.

During the process, the trees had to be stacked rather high to make room for a second load that would arrive the following day. As the stack rose, the stability of the pile became suspect and one of the team leaders decided to create a tie down process to steady the pile. In my opinion it wasn't the "best" way to solve the problem, but it was one way, and given the circumstances of time and resources, the solution worked fine.

As the first few trees were being secured, one of the other team leaders stood watching and shaking his head. Without any request for his opinion, he volunteered it to me while two others worked the pile: "That's not a very good idea. In all these years, we've never done it like that."

Now I wasn't all that concerned one way or another, but the comments he made raised an issue that had been brewing amongst the family for some time. That's when the oldest son decided to speak up. "If you've got a better idea we're all ears! But if you don't have another idea that will work, please don't be critical. And frankly, I'm tired of you always being critical without offering another solution."

What a great point! How often are we critical of other people's ideas or actions without offering another solution? Rather than become part of the cure, do our comments and critiques add to the problem, or simply add to the stress of a difficult situation? And it goes beyond our own attitude; it spreads bad will toward the way others do things and possibly tears down their identity as a leader.

How do you face challenges that arise at your dealership? When changes are made, do you offer ways to improve them or do you tend to tear them down with your critical point of view? Only you know the answer, so examine yourself and determine whether you are a builder or a demolitions expert when it comes to working as a team at your dealership.

Happy Holidays!