By Peter Jeff
The Leadership Mints Guy

Here’s an idea to help you stay focused.

Smash!!! My arm must have morphed into a Paul Bunyan axe the way I pounded on that Pepsi vending machine. I didn’t break anything –except my ego. And all I wanted was a cold Pepsi on a hot summer day.

“Can I help you,’’ snarled the owner of the gas station as his eyes scanned his Pepsi vending machine with the coveted look of Corvette owner committed to protecting his property. “The machine must have jammed,” I opined.

The proprietor unlocked the machine, reached in and retrieved my Pepsi. “Thanks,” I said as I headed for the door. “Sir, that’s 75 cents.”

Oh, Shhh-t! I felt so stupid. It’s not that I didn’t feed enough money into the machine. It’s that I didn’t feed ANY money at all into the Pepsi vending machine. After all, I was used to FREE Pepsi vending machines.

Free Vending Machines at Pepsi’s Headquarters

Back then, I worked at Pepsi-Cola Company’s corporate headquarters in New York. Free Pepsi vending machines dotted the break rooms throughout the complex. I got used to just hitting he lever on the vending machine and out popped a Pepsi. FREE.

Then that hot summer day I stopped to get gas and saw a Pepsi vending machine. I did what I always did at the office when I was thirsty and saw a Pepsi machine. Ooops. My mind was on automatic pilot and flying way off track. I simply forgot where I was.

The most effective leaders I have known may not always take command over their automatic pilot flying around in their subconscious. But these leaders are more apt to be AWARE of Continue reading →