TAKING
THE LEAD
A Challenging Decision
F
Scott Humphrey
CEO, WFCA
Losing one’s
relevance does
not happen
overnight. It is
brought on by
a prolonged
insistence on
maintaining
the status
quo in an ever
changing
world.
our years ago, I faced a challenging decision. Would I leave the place I had been
employed for the previous twenty-five years in order to lead the WFCA. I sought
out counsel from many respected leaders from outside and inside the industry.
The opportunity was great, but according to some, so was the challenge. In short, I was
told that the WFCA was known as the association that created the “Surfaces” show in Las
Vegas, but few if any knew the current purpose of the organization. Note to self: When
people only know you as an individual, organization, or business by what you “used to
be,” warning bells should go off. How you respond to that warning will determine your
long-term survival.
We likely all know friends who refuse to move beyond high school. They excelled
during those years in popularity, academics, or athletics. It is as if they live in a bubble
where time stands still. They never want to leave their “Glory Days.” The problem is,
what they call “Glory Days,” we simply refer to as the past. To me it is as simple as this,
“If what you are investing yourself in today is not more important than what you have
been, your past will continue to define you.” This is not to say that your identity today
can’t be an extension of what you have been, but it does mean you can’t live in the past
and succeed in the present.
Leadership is useless if it loses its relevance
When you relate this truth to Leadership, it simply means that “Leadership is useless if it
loses its relevance.” In fact, I would tell you that the words “Leadership” and “Irrelevant”
can’t be used simultaneously about the same person or entity. Irrelevant is defined in the
Urban Dictionary as, “Unrelated, unimportant, useless.” If that label is used to describe
your business, it is in a very real sense, the beginning of the end. Companies rarely survive
the long hard road back from irrelevance.
Losing one’s relevance does not happen overnight. It is brought on by a prolonged
insistence on maintaining the status quo in an ever changing world. The examples are
numerous: Service Merchandise, Circuit City, Sears, Kodak, etc…. These organiza-
tions never voiced a desire to fade into the sunset, but all did have a pivotal moment or
moments where there was a conscious or unconscious decision made to stay the same; to
keep doing what got them there. One truth that every leader must embrace is this: “What
got you there will not keep you there!” Going out of business is one possible outcome,
but equally painful is the slow process of dying.
The fear of and/or resistance to change is undoubtedly the greatest single cause of
becoming irrelevant in your business and life. But have hope, there are many things you
can do to battle back from the brink of obscurity:
2 Premier Flooring Retailer | Q3 2017