Eat the Crust First...

Recently I was listening to an eCoaching session where Edgell Pyles (a family business consultant) was being interviewed about all aspects of family businesses.  He covered a lot of topics, everything from setting boundaries and creating roles within the business to transitioning from one generation to another.

One of the things he said I simply loved was with everything in life but especially with the difficult aspects you have to "eat the crust first".  You have to do the hard stuff first before you get to the soft, easy, sweet stuff.  If you "eat the crust first" in every situation, every day then before long it won't be hard to get it done.  Training yourself to not avoid or to dread the "crust" in life will make the rest of life more enjoyable.

I am a peacemaker my nature.  I love balance.  I love for everyone to just get along.  So sometimes I can avoid or push off the difficult stuff until there comes a point where it is sitting right in my path and there is simply no way around it.  It is never easier to handle the "crust" of life by putting it off.  In fact, sometimes it is harder.  Putting off the "crust" means we have to think about it all the time knowing it will be there after we are done avoiding it.

So today when you get up and get ready and head to the kitchen for breakfast make sure you "eat the crust first" both literally on the toast you make and metaphorically in how you handle life's challenges.  Not only it is healthy for you, but once you are done with the crust you can enjoy the buttery center of both the toast and what life has to offer!

Blank Space

I used to think that having every minute of every day scheduled meant I was getting stuff done...that I was important...that I was needed. What it really means is I have no control over my schedule and I would rather be "busy" than productive.

Being the single mom of an almost nine year old very active, very social little girl I get a lot of things scheduled for me...softball practices and games, dance lessons and recitals, school parties and programs, birthday parties, play dates, sleep overs, camps, vacations, and oh so much more. My day planner is very full and that is all before I even add my work functions in much less my own social and volunteer activities.

So often I hear people say "I know you are so busy..." and I am. But I am not sure how productive I am at running a business, being a mom, or being a friend.

Like a car needs fuel to drive we as people have to refill our own tanks if we want to keep "cruising" through life. With that in mind I have started making it a point to put some blank spaces in my planner. I make sure I have an evening where I don't have anything planned and I can either read, get a massage or a pedicure, or work in my flower beds. I am making a commitment to check in with friends more often to hear about what is going on with them and to refill my tank with their love and friendship.

Down time in not wasteful. Let me repeat that for my fellow OCD perfectionist type A friends out there...down time is not wasteful. We have to turn off electronics so they can recharge or they will die on their own. We can't run a car at 90 miles an hour forever before the fuel runs out and the motor burns up. We make sure our kids eat and get sleep and we need to make sure we do the same. We all need to rest, relax, refuel, and recharge. We can't multitask that...we have to do it in the blank spaces of our lives.

So grab you some white out and make some room. Trust me...it only feels weird for the first few times you do it...then you begin to crave those little pockets of time they make a huge difference in your day, work, and life!

Dallas Gift Market June 2016

Many friends, family, and team members have joined me over the years at the Dallas Gift Market. I started going with my mom probably almost two decades ago (man I am getting old). What amazes me about the Gift Market is not the amount of people who attend or the number of floors that are filled with showrooms and booths of merchants...what amazes me is the owners who are working those showrooms and booths.

I can always tell when I am talking to a rep and when I am talking to the owner. I deal with good reps and some even great reps...but when you are talking with the owner not only can you see the love they have for what they are trying to get you to buy (by the dozens) but you can also see that this is a make or break moment for them. These products are what are going to pay for their mortgage, their food, their kids college tuition, and possibly their gas back home. These products aren't just cloth and plastic and metal formed together to make an inanimate object...they are the blood, sweat and tears these people have poured in to turn an idea into a reality.

They believe in their products more than they ever believed in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy combined. Not only do they want me to buy it to offer it to my customers but they want me to believe in it too! These people gave up their steady 9-5 jobs to pursue a dream. They took a risk. The took a leap of faith. They probably took out a big loan too.

Some will be the next big thing for the moment. Some I will see at future shows for many years. Some I will never see at a show again.

I have great respect for these vendors. Whether they succeed or not they tried. They did what very few do...they took the risk...they took the leap of faith...they jumped. May God give them all the wings to fly.

Next Right Step...

When life hands you big choices...I am talking those monumental ones that have a way of changing someone's entire life path...we often are frozen in fear of making the wrong choice. I certainly have felt that way numerous times in my life. When we are faced with physical fear we often can rely on our "fight or flight" natural instinct to make the decision for us but when it comes to less immediate harm and more permanent results we often find our natural instinct has taken flight and indecision is fighting to take over our brains.

Many of the best minds in the business world have also faced situations like these. Some of them were on the brink of bankruptcy or were facing huge lawsuits. Some of them even lost it all and had to start again from rock bottom. Some of them faced personal crisis with their family members or their own health. All of them have said the same thing...

When you don't know which way to turn just do the next right step.

You don't have to know where your destination is. You don't have to know the goal. You don't have to know how to get there. You just make the next right choice, the next right decision, the next right step...then you keep doing that over and over again until you can look back and see how far you have come.

Sometimes the next right step is to the left and the then next right step is to the right and then the next one is back. You don't have to keep moving in the same direction as the first step you just take the next right step based on where you are in the moment. Before long you will be able to see the right steps in front of you. The path behind you may be long and curvy and even have some moments where you backtracked for a while but in the end you will know each step was the right one at that particular moment in time.

Just keeping moving...one step at a time.

Everyone has a story...

There is an old saying that if everyone threw their problems into a pile and we all got to see what everyone was having to deal with we would fight to get our own problems back. Basically what this is saying is that even when we think we have it rough there is usually someone out there who would give anything to trade problems with us.

Several of my team members have shared with me over the past few months some of the hard times they are facing. While we offer them hugs and prayers and help in any way we can as a company I still realize that they have to go home and deal with their problems. Many times I can't imagine what some of them are facing. I am amazed they show up for work at all much less can find a way to laugh and smile.

We all have our problems. We all have our stories. As a company and a team leader my job is to help in any way I can and listen to what my team member really needs. Some need time off. Some need more hours. Some just need to vent. Some need help in knowing where to turn next. They all just need to know that they matter and that we as a team care about them.

Are You Looking in a Window or a Mirror

At the Summit Conference it was hard to choose which session I liked most but one of the top contenders was when there was a Q&A Session with Dave Ramsey, Jim Collins, and Patrick Lencioni. During that session one of the speakers (I forget who) talked about a person's relationship to blame. According to him there are two ways in which we view blame...either looking through a window or in a mirror.

The point he was making is those who never take ownership of their mistakes or shortcomings place the blame on other people or the situation. Their relationship to blame is through a window. They can see who and what all played a role in the blame but they never see themselves.

On the other hand, those who do take ownership of their mistakes and shortcomings see their blame in a mirror. They place the responsibility on themselves. They own it. They claim it. They don't hide from it. They don't put it on others. They alone stand in the mirror and see how they themselves are responsible.

When someone is to blame it can be easy to look out a window but true leaders and valuable team members will pick up a mirror in those situations. They will look deep into that mirror and study what went wrong. Then they will put the mirror down and get on with making it right.

Five Years from Now...

The question was posed at the Summit in Dallas...

If you were told today you only had five years to live, what would you take off your plate and what would you put on it?

Having five years is a significant amount of time. If you only had six months or even a year to live you might just sell all your possessions and start traveling the world or you might take your kids out of school and make a million memories for them to cherish for a lifetime. But having five years to live means you have to do things like pay bills and send kids to school.

However, if you knew you only had five years to live would you spend much of the time watching bad tv or any tv or would you watch more sunrises and sunsets? Would you spend much time hanging around people who are negative and draining or people who were changing the world one person at a time? Would you do something huge to leave a legacy behind or would you do something small to leave one person's world better off than it was before...or would you do both? Would you work late every night or would you leave work on time or even early to take your kids to the park to play and while you are at the park would you scroll through Facebook and Twitter or would you push them on the swings and build castles with them in the sand? If you only had five years left to live would you read the latest trashy romance novel cover to cover or would you read the Bible word for word? Would you make a list of all your regrets or a bucket list and start checking it off today...right this moment...not tomorrow...not next week...not next year...but now?

Five years...half a decade...260 Saturdays...1,825 days. What will you do with the next five years of your life...or the next year...or next week...or tomorrow?

Goals vs. Wishes

At the Summit Conference there was a whole session on "Start with a Dream, End with a Goal" led by Chris Hogan

I have heard many of the things Chris talked about at various talks by various people but Chris made some really good points really clear.

According to Chris "Goals that work must...

Be specific

Be measurable

Have a time limit

Be yours

Be in in writing"

No only did Chris talk about knowing the steps you were going to take to reach your goals but he also talked about the things you were willing to give up to reach those goals. The latter really hit home with me.

If you want to workout more are you willing to give up some sleeping in time each morning to get your sweat on?
If you want to read more books about becoming a great leader, parent, team member, Christian, etc. are you willing to give up some tv time?
If you want to pay off credit cards are you willing to give up vacation this year...and next year...and the next?
If you want to go back to college to get your degree are you willing to give up time with your family and friends to attend classes at night or online?

Deciding what you are willing to give up in order to reach your goals made me really think about things in a whole new way!!! When you realize what you are going to have to GIVE UP to get what you really want in life it starts to make things very real, very fast.

You become more of who you are...

It is interesting to me to hear stories about people who come in to large sums of money really quickly whether it be from winning the lottery or becoming a famous athlete or actor or they get some type of huge inheritance. The money doesn't change them most of the time. It merely amplifies who they were before they became rich.

For instance people with drug and alcohol problems usually don't seek help from high priced rehab centers they just have more money to buy drugs and alcohol. Those who were broke before because they were bad with money skills just have more money to lose once they got rich. A lot of people who win the lottery end up broke a few short years after they get their millions. The typical professional football player only plays three years in the NFL and is broke shortly after he is out of the league.

What this tells me is if a person has problems with managing a little bit of money, success, fame, or good fortune then he/she will also struggle when they come into large amounts of any of those things. The trick is to learn to be good stewards of what you have in the moment. Then when God blesses you with more you will be able to handle it.

5 Things I know About People by John Maxwell...

I was listening to a Focus on the Family podcast today and one of my favorite leadership gurus was on it. John Maxwell was talking about the "Five Things I Know About People". I loved it. Here is what they are...

1. Everyone wants to be somebody.
Everyone wants to feel like they matter. We need to be "cheerleaders for people". Jesus was in the people business and we should be too.

2. Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.
We all have had great teachers, mentors, leaders, etc. in our lives who were full of knowledge and wisdom. But the ones that really impacted us were the ones who took a personal interest in us.

3. Everybody who belongs to the body of Christ belongs to everybody that belongs to the body of Christ.
Many Christians want to be lone rangers. We can't do it all alone. "We are bothers and sisters in Jesus and we are going on a journey together."

4. Anybody who helps somebody influences a lot of bodies.
When you and I put our effort into helping someone else our influence will stretch way beyond just the person we are helping. Our tendency is to hold back. The moment you start helping other people it will influence others to help other people and before you know it something is really going on and a whole movement begins to come alive.

5. God loves everybody.
People sometimes let other people tell them what they can and cannot do; what they can and cannot be. We shouldn't let anybody hold us back from what God intended us to be.

John Maxwell wrote a book called "Winning with People" and I can't wait to read it!

My Business has a Problem...and it is Me

Thanks to the Dave Ramsey EntreLeadership book and Summit I found out my business has a problem...and it is me. As one of the top leaders at the Pecan Shed (I share the role with my dad and brother) I realize that our business will only be as successful as we choose it to be. Our family business will only grow as much as we are willing to grow as leaders. It will only reach the highest potential that we reach as a leadership team.

Many great companies are built by great leaders. And many good companies are built by good leaders. And many not so good companies are lead by not so good leaders. Some of the best business models around have failed not because of the product or service but because of the leadership that was steering the company.

As a top leader in the Pecan Shed that puts a lot of pressure on me to live up to the expectations of my team, customers, and community. It also means that I have a lot of control over how much success we do or don't have.

So (as Dave Ramsey has said many times) while the problem in our business is me, I am also the solution. That fact alone is wonderful and powerful and downright scary too.

As a leader we all have a great responsibility to our teams and to our customers. We cannot simply create a good product or service, hire some staff, and then sit back and watch the bank account increase. We have to continually be striving to learn more, do more, get better, and improve in all areas of our lives.

Leadership comes with many advantages but always remember...the buck stops at the top (or at least it should). Leaders are the problem but they are also the solution.

Feeling 35

I often tell people I don't feel my age. Some days I feel like I am still in my 20s and some days I feel more like I am in my 80s. What amazes me more than the number of candles on my birthday cake is the number of years my family has been in the pecan business.

This fall we will be celebrating 35 years of business and in some ways that just seems nuts to me. I was only two when Mom and Dad opened what was literally a two room "shed" in the little town of Byers, TX where they sold pecans in the shell and cracked. The building had no central heat or air and no plumbing. Mom had to walk across the street to use the restroom at Reed's gas station. The Pecan Shed was only open a few months out of the year...usually November until January or February. We had no pecan orchards of our own at the time but were leasing orchards along with all the other farming my parents were doing (such as wheat, cattle, etc.).

When I talk to my parents neither one of them believed the Pecan Shed would last more than a few years. Dad has even said back in 1981 he thought if it made it eight or nine years he would consider it a success. As the business grew we built a new metal building at the Byers location. Then we opened the "Garden Patch" in Wichita Falls several years later. That location sold pecans and since we needed to stay open year round to pay the bills we also started growing produce or buying it from neighbors on the Charlie/Thornberry Farm Trail to sell at the Garden Patch. In 1994 Mom and Dad built the Pecan Shed at 1401 Midwestern Pkwy in Wichita Falls. This store is still our "hub" location where we do all our shipping and internet marketing as well as retail and wholesale. On October 30, 2014 my dream came true and we opened a second Pecan Shed in Henrietta. PS2 as I loving refer to the Henrietta store serves customers from all over the United States and even several other countries on a daily basis thanks to the highway traffic off of Hwy 287.

While the retail business was growing so were our orchards. In 1987 we started planting the first of our own trees and we have continued to do so almost every year since. To date we have over 1,000 acres and 25,000 pecan trees in the Charlie/Thornberry/Byers, TX area.

While Jake and I grew up in the family business we were both prone to say we didn't want to actually be a part of it when we were done with school. Jake went to Tarleton State University in Stephenville where he earned his horticulture degree. I have a Masters in Business from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls. Both of us had career goals that had nothing to do with pecans. However, the old saying is true...the easiest way to make God laugh is to tell Him your plans. For various reasons Jake and I both ended up back in the family business soon after graduating from college. Of course another old saying is also true...it is always good to be home. The Pecan Shed and the Montz Orchards are definitely home to us.

Today, Mom is retired to play with grandkids, I (along with my excellent team) run the two retail stores, Jake (and his awesome crew) run the orchard operations as well as Jake is a expert in pecan exportation to China, and Dad still has he hand in the mix of everything on the days he doesn't go fishing.

While some days it is hard for me to believe I will be 37 this fall I must say it seems even crazier that we have been in the pecan business for 35 years. Some days it feels like we just began our journey and some days it feels like we have been around forever. One thing I do know is I am sure looking forward to what the next 35 years have in store...no doubt it will be nuttin' but good stuff full of fond memories, wonderful people and (in my opinion) the best pecans, fudge, pies, brittle, and so much more!

We truly are...Family Owned and Grown Since 1981!

Everyone On the Bus...Beep Beep!

Jim Collins talks about how important it is to get the right people on the bus and in the right seats and then determine where the bus is going. In business this means you have to hire the right people for your organization to do the right job. Then and only then can the bus get to the right destination.

Often times, especially in small businesses that are growing very rapidly, we realize we need to hire people and QUICKLY! We have jobs to do and we can't do them all. So we start hiring team members left and right. Before long we realize that some of the team members we hired were not great choices. Or we might see where the team member is a great person and we love them in the business but not necessarily at the job they are doing.

The trick is to make sure you have the right people on the bus...i.e. the right people who will fit in with your company's culture and core values, who shares your vision, and also seeks to achieve the same level of success.

Then you must make sure when you find the right people you have them in the right job. Putting an introvert in a high pressure commission sales position might not be the best idea or putting a extrovert in a cubicle staring at a computer screen all day might not be a good choice either. If you have someone who is great at numbers but has a tendency to overlook details then perhaps your accounting department is not a good fit there either.

Once you get the right people in the right seats on your bus I am sure not only will the bus get to the destination it needs to but it will also be a much more pleasant ride on the way there.

If you have not read Jim Collins book "Good to Great" I highly recommend it.

Life and Lemonade...

When life hands you lemons you can't just make lemonade without adding a little bit of sugar to the mix. For me this means we have to handle the challenges we face in life with a positive attitude or else we just get stuck with lemon water instead of lemonade.

Many times in life and in business I have faced obstacles and setbacks. Some of them were because of choices I made and some of them were completely out of my control. The only thing I could control 100% of the time was my attitude once the trouble started.

It is hard to always look for the silver lining or to dance in the rain or to be the bigger person but in the end doing those things makes the entire situation more bearable. We have to let go and let God take over the things that are out of our control. We have to forgive and move on in order to heal. We have to learn our lessons and hope for a better tomorrow.

I know this may sound very "Pollyanna" to most of you but the truth is the alternative is going down the dark, dreary, and negative road that never leads to anything positive. If we consistently choose to find the good in every situation, if we continue to be positive, and if we remember that "this too shall pass" then while the path we choose may be dark and dreary for a while it will end up in a better place than the one headed to Negativetown.

Choose kindness, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, empathy, and grace in every situation. Look for the good in both the situation and in people. Add a little sugar when life gives you lemons and then sit back and enjoy the lemonade once the time comes.

Criticism Comes With the Territory

Aristotle said "To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, be nothing.”

If you have ever achieved anything, won anything, or made anything of yourself personally or professionally you have undoubtedly faced some levels of criticism. Especially in today's age of technology more people feel like they can be blunter and more opinionated about more things thanks to anonymity.

I personally have faced my fair share of criticism in all aspects of my life...everything from the way I color my hair to the way I lead my team to the way I parent my child has been criticized by at least one person at least once. Growing up in a small Texas town, I am pretty used to it. However, that doesn't mean it doesn't still sting even if you get used to it.

My family and our business has also heard criticism over the years. I used to let every comment cut me to my core but over time I have learned to remove my anger from the comment, look to see if there is any truth to it, and then act only if necessary.

Ken Coleman says in his book One Question "Criticism often calcifies its victims, causing them to retrench. But if one remains teachable, words that seem a curse can become a great gift."

Some of my toughest critics have been and some still are my biggest supporters. This list includes but is not limited to...my dad, my basketball coach in high school, several college professors, a few of my closest friends, and all my counselors. Just because someone criticizes you doesn't mean they are waging war with you. Sometimes they are wrong and sometimes they are right. The trick as Coleman said is to remain teachable.

Of course some criticism is just downright mean (especially those who criticize anonymously can be particularly cruel). If that is the case then God gave us an amazing tool to help with that...the delete button! Delete. Delete. Delete.

Take Your Kid to Work Day...

I am lucky Dotty can come with me to work just about any day. My staff is always so good to her, the customers enjoy talking to her, and for the most part she is fairly well behaved.

I grew up going to work with my mom a lot too. I guess you could say it is a family tradition. Of course my mom used to make sure there was a tv with about three or four channels for us kids to watch and now Dotty just brings her iPod or Kindle and watches whatever she wants, wherever she wants. So times have changed a little thanks to technology.

I remember growing up having a love/hate relationship for going to work with my mom and Dotty has the same feelings. For a kid work can be boring, especially in the summer when there are pools to swim in and friends to play with. However I know that occasionally bringing Dotty to work with me is good for her.

While I don't stay as long as I normally would or do all the things I really need to do, Dotty does see me and my team working hard. She gets to listen to some of the challenges we face and occasionally she and I will talk about them on the way back home. I am giving Dotty some of the best gifts my mom also gave me...I am giving her my time and my example.

I learned more about how to run a business by watching my parents and especially my mom than I ever learned in any business class in college. I learned by watching Mom interact with her team and her customers. I learned by her talking to me about our real world problems and issues not by reading about some other Fortune 500 company's issues. I learned from her how to work hard but how to be a good person and treat people well at the same time she was trying to make a successful business grow every year. I learned how to become the next generation by watching her live it out day after day.

Other than a few government reports that had to be done, my mom rarely sat down and told me HOW to do things at the Pecan Shed. She simply showed me them when I was little and as I got older she would start to ask for my thoughts and opinions. She led by example and I followed the old "monkey see; monkey do" method of learning.

My mom wasn't perfect just like I will never be. I do a few things differently than she did, but for the most part I still stay true to the core values she taught me. We still offer what we think are some of the best pecans in Texas, we still try to maintain the highest level of customer service, we still treat our team like family, we still expect high standards, we still love what we do, and we still put family first.

I never feel guilty about taking Dotty to work with me. The way I look at it some "on the job training" can never start soon enough. Plus, I pay her well. She can have all the fudge and candied pecans she can eat!

Be Passionate and Be Good At It

In an interview with Ken Coleman for Ken's book "One Question" John Maxwell says that in order for people to find their niche (aka calling or purpose) in this world they must find out what they are passionate about AND what they are good at doing. To be one or the other is not enough.

If you are passionate about singing but can't carry a tune then you end up on one of those early episodes of American Idol. We all have seen those individuals who sang their little hearts out, hurt our eardrums, and yet were still shocked when they didn't make it to the next round. I too LOVE to sing but I only do so in the shower or with my 8 year old daughter in the car. I don't even make people in church suffer. I simply hum softly. I have a real passion for singing but I know I am not any good at it so you won't see me trying out for the next big singing reality television show.

If you are good at something but not passionate about it you end up being the CEO of a company who makes a great living and has a lot of success but secretly wishes he/she was somewhere else every single day of his/her life. I was pretty good at my job in Human Resources when I worked at the hospital but I spent the vast majority of the day alone in my office staring at spreadsheets and doing computations on the calculator. While I loved my coworkers; I truly disliked the lonely job. To this day I don't like spreadsheets and have a real mental block when it comes to numbers of almost all kinds.

When I graduated from high school and even college I swore up and down I would never work for the family business. I wanted a "real job" where I wore heels and suits and didn't work weekends. What I found out was I didn't love the "real" job, my feet hurt, I missed my jeans, and I still worked some weekends to help my mom and dad out when I could.

In 2004 when my mom wanted to "retire" and my parents asked me to run the retail store I happily agreed. While I still need to improve in many areas of the family business, I think I am fairly good at it and I know I have a passion for it! In fact, when I first started I had so much passion for it I often would tear up when I talked about the history of the store and how far we had come. I still do sometimes but I hide it much better these days.

I have other passions in life...volunteering, writing, reading, gardening, and others...but I use those passions to keep me from being a workaholic. My true passion will always be the family store.

I was reluctant to follow my passion because I thought it should be "bigger" than working in the family business. What I didn't realize at first was my passion was only as big as I wanted it to be. I have big plans for the Pecan Shed in the next decade or so...I just hope I am good enough to see them come to fruition!!!

What are you good at and passionate about? Have you found your niche yet?

Time...It is All a State of Mind

In her book (that I truly LOVE and have personally listened to on Audible at least five times) "You are a Bada** - How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life" - Jen Sincero talks about how time is really just a state of mind. She uses the example that if you have two weeks to get something done it usually takes the entire two weeks but if you have two days to get the same thing done you can actually do it in only two days.

This really struck a cord with me. I always feel like I never have enough time...to work, to play, to relax, to stress, to laugh, to cry, to breathe, to live, etc. When in reality I have the same 24 hours in a day that Newton, Shakespeare, Da Vinci, Oprah, Gandhi, Jobs, Disney, Hepburn, Ali, Armstrong, Chanel, Ford, Ruth, Sinatra, and even Seuss had or have.

What matters is what I do with my time.
What matters is that I don't see my time as limited but rather full of limitless possibilities.
What matters is I find the time.
The time to work and play. The time to stress and relax. The time to laugh and cry. The time to breathe and live.

I get to choose what I do with my most precious gift...time. It is so precious because we can never get more of it...once it is gone, we can't get it back...and because it is the best gift we can give to others...our time.

How will you spend your time today?

Positive Attitude vs. Talent/Education/Experience/And More

When it comes to hiring and evaluating a team member a lot of businesses will look strictly at talent. They will also consider education, experience among other factors. But to me the most important attribute any team member can have is a positive attitude.

I can teach a team member a lot of things about business...especially my business. I can educate them, give them the benefits of my experience as well as their own experience, and everyone has a talent for something. However, if a person by nature is negative, pessimistic, or ill tempered those things are harder to change, improve upon, and flat out get rid of.

I would rather have a team member with a B or even C level in talent or work ethic who also has an A level in attitude than a team member with an A level talent or work ethic but who has a B, C, D, or F in attitude.

And I am quite positive about this fact.