The
time in New York can be captured by looking at five snapshots. The first
involved Jim Paccia and the cross-country team.
“I
coach the cross-country team at Tully High School.” Lopez looked at Jim Paccia
with a blank expression. “That’s a running team,” Rob added. “The cross-country
team runs five-kilometer footraces against teams from other schools.”
“I am
a soccer player,” Lopez said.
“Lopez,”
Coach Paccia said, “after what I saw yesterday, you need to be on the
cross-country team. You have a real gift. It would be a shame to waste it.”
Lopez
hated to disappoint anyone. “Perhaps one race for you,” he said.
“I had
something more in mind,” Coach said. He reached into his bag. “Lopez, I had
this made for you. It’s yours if you come out for the cross-country team and
commit to run the entire season.” Coach Paccia held up a Tully High School team
jersey and jacket. The white letters popped off of the all-black background.
Lopez was impressed. Then Coach Paccia turned the jacket around and Lopez’ jaw
dropped. There, across the back, were the letters L-O-M-O-N-G! For a boy who
grew up wearing hand-me-down clothes courtesy of Goodwill, this was the most
beautiful piece of clothing Lopez had ever seen.
“Okay,”
Lopez said, “I will run cross-country.”
Less
than two months later Lopez ran his first race. Rob and Barbara were there
cheering for Lopez. Lopez was surprised. The sight of them convinced Lopez that
he had to win this race, not for himself, but for them. This race was his
chance to validate his place in America.
However,
he had a problem. Although his English had improved somewhat, he did not fully
grasp all the nuances of high school cross-country. In this particular race, a
golf cart led the runners around the course. Everyone seemed to understand this
little detail except Lopez. Lopez thought he was supposed to beat the golf cart
to the finish line.
The
moment the gun sounded, Lopez took off after the cart like his life depended
upon it. Within a few hundred meters he zipped right by it. Once he passed it,
he did not think it could catch him. He was right. However, the golf cart
cheated. It took a shortcut and pulled around back in front of him.
That
just made Lopez run even harder. He passed the cart a second time only to see
the golf cart cheat again. Over the course of the first four kilometers of the
race, Lopez passed the golf cart several times. Lopez passed him so often that
he completely ran out of gas stumbling across the finish line in third place.
Coach
Paccia ran over to Lopez. Lopez was fuming. He believed that he would have won
the race if the golf cart had not cheated so many times. Coach Paccia grabbed
Lopez and said: “Lopez, you ran a great race, but you don’t have to run against
the cart. You only race the other runners.”
“Great,”
Lopez thought. “Now you tell me!”
Management Lesson # 12 – Know the Rules
Lopez suffered needlessly. Knowing the rules is an important aspect
of being a successful senior IT leader. I am not speaking of the obvious –
laws, ethics, and budgets. I am speaking about the “rules” – who is the real
decision-maker, who has real influence, who can be trusted, how much
credibility do you have?, etc. Knowing the “rules” provides you with a clear
understanding of the environment in which you are managing a department.
