Scouting for CAD Managers

No, I don't mean that I am searching for CAD Managers. What I mean is that I want to share with you some things I have learned through the Scouting program (Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts) which I continue to use in my professional life.

I am very grateful to my parents who allowed me to participate in scouts when I was a kid. There are great memories of camping and other events from that time of my life. But there are other things that have stuck with me that have become part of who I am. These are the things that encouraged me to allow my boys to be involved in scouting. And these are the things that I have tried to share with employees and coworkers.

The Cub Scout Motto: “Do Your Best”

“Do your best” is a pretty simple motto for boys in first through fifth grade, so I hope you will commit it to memory as well. My parents taught me that same idea and I hope your parents did the same for you. Their expectation wasn’t perfection. They didn’t say “Be the best,” they said “Do your best.” It’s a fairly subjective test of character isn’t it? Only you and God know whether you have done your best, and He’s keeping your secret for now.

“Do your best” is the kind of phrase that gets in your head and stays there. Have a challenge? Do your best. Have questions? Do your best. Have a decision to make? Do your best.

“Do your best” is an ideal that you can’t live up to, but it provides direction. Regardless of our personal desire to succeed, we all must overcome the urge to sit back and watch life happen to everyone else.

I highly recommend that you listen to Earl Nightingale’s “The Strangest Secret” (several times). If Nightingale is correct, and we become what we think about, shouldn’t we not only do our best but think about our best as well? When I was a CAD Manager I developed the desire to become the “CIO” of our company. Not the Chief Information Officer, but the Chief Innovation Officer. A mediocre CAD Manager does not innovate. A CAD Manager who’s motto is “Do Your Best” will innovate. I challenge you to think about being the Chief Innovation Officer at your company.

“Do Your Best”