A vision quest is a Native American rite of passage. The Lakotas in South Dakota embraced this.

Young teenagers were sent to the woods alone and stayed there until they were given their purpose, their passion, by their elders (angels, spirits). They then emerged an adult, having found their passion and purpose.

That’s probably a bad description but close enough for the context of this article.

As for me, I like to see water. Put my toes in the sand. Be with my family of 5. And do just about NOTHING. That is perfect for me. And if I can stay the hell off my phone, which is a problem, the Spirits whisper to me. Always.

My mind floods with ideas. Many are bad. Some are good. It’s my version of vision quest.

I try to find PEACE & JOY on vacation, not search for happiness.

So I don’t chance excursions, adventures, or business. And I’m not judging you, that’s just not what I do.

I try to find PEACE. PEACE LEADS TO JOY.

I went to church with a few of my kids. I’m a Catholic. This church was Baptist. 30 attending people. Maybe.

The pastor spoke on contentment, which again, leads to joy. We should be content with all things. “Pray, hope and don’t worry,” Saint Padre Pio said over and over. God’s will not ours. Live in the absolute moment and be content where you are. Most distress comes from wanting what we don’t have, or worrying about what might happen. Nonsense.

That’s the personal side.

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The other reason for my writing today:

What did the Spirits say to me? What inspired me? What compass am I following?

This is the business side of my life… a big part… not the only part… but a big part. My purpose to help people, and supply happiness.

I had three takeaways: 1. Hospitality 2. Training 3. Driving without a dashboard, Data Analyzer

1. Since Covid hit, Drexel has been on a mission of excellence. We ripped everything down to the bare bones, everything. Every process and procedure. How we do things, who does what, and how. Subtle shifts in some ways. Huge in others, like salespeople, are not commissioned based. All chasing excellence for our builders.

The opportunity we currently have is what I call the healthy friction of different paths.

Excellence is almost in opposition to HOSPITALITY. Big word, not used in our building supply industry.

Excellence has been our 3 year focus (and still is)…however, I think we need to jump back into HOSPITALITY.

We need to train, think, and dive into HOSPITALITY.

Hospitality

hos·pi·tal·i·ty
/ˌhäspəˈtalədē/
noun
the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers.

I personally need to get out of the kitchen (chasing excellence putting every ounce of my time, and warranted in the kitchen) but I think soon, not today, tomorrow, not maybe even next month.

Perhaps we even need a hospitality leader to lead us in this charge. It’s 2 sided, how do we make the people feel on selections, and then how do we make the laborers on site, and how do we make the builders feel that buy from us.

We need to focus on that. I know we can get better. Lots of training. Lots of due diligence. Lots of ways to do this. Excited to get into the dining room!

2. Training

We started with one person and one building. Now we have 155 training sessions booked in the next 12 months. We are growing that department to 4 people.

Key takeaways. The team must train the team. Why?

We learn best from our peers.

The best way to learn is to teach.

There is a connection piece. If someone trains me, I will remember them.

Empowered and engaged. If you are the trainer hard not to be empowered and engaged if YOU speak to your STRENGTHS.

Public speaking is a hugely valuable tool for all team members to have. Practicing this in front of your peers is a great training ground.

Team leading the Team is so powerful.

2. Car without a dashboard.

We have a car, a big one, moving fast. We don’t have a dashboard. We have access to the data, we have Steve Truss to mine data. We don’t have anyone to find the problems in the car (or the good things). Does the oil need changing? How fast are we going? Do the brakes work? A think we might need a data person that presents the information of the good and bad, and find the low-hanging fruit. Raindrops make oceans. Find the pennies to fix. SIT LEADERS DOWN AND SHOW THEM THE PENNY OPPORTUNITIES.

To summarize, training, hospitality, and finding opportunities by using our vast data with a person that can find the opportunities will be a focus of Drexel going forward.

And finally…find your contentment and your joy!

God bless,

Joel