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Hindsight is 20/20

Posted by ablack on Sep. 21, 2016  /  Chapter News  /  Subscribe 1

Hindsight is 20/20 – looking back over the last decade of SMPS involvement, I would have never guessed I would be Chapter President. I can honestly say that each opportunity I’ve had with SMPS has changed my life in some way. Being the Arizona Chapter President was a life-changing position and it is great to be able to look back at the last two years with a complete perspective. Wow … what a ride! When I started this journey two years ago as President Elect, I honestly didn’t know what to expect or what would unfold. I could not have anticipated it fully— which is probably a good thing. I learned life lessons and grew both personally and professionally more than I thought possible. The lessons are numerous, but the following three had the greatest impact:

The only failure is to not try. I was so afraid of failure when I started, but a conversation with our very own, Barbara Shuck, at the President Leadership Symposium (PLS), helped put things in perspective: failure is a part of the experience and I’m not trying if I’m not failing. Some things will work and some things won’t, but I won’t know unless I try. I was able to change my perspective to lessons learned. I made numerous mistakes along the way, but I always put my best foot forward and tried to do the right thing. Experiences are always a double-edge sword; while we would change things if we had to do them again, it’s going through those experiences that make us the people we are today.

It’s not life or death. Anyone who knows me knows I drink the SMPS Kool-Aid, but I had to remind myself that SMPS is not life or death. SMPS is priority #3 after our personal and professional lives. No one is going to die if SMPS things don’t get done. Being President does bring some pressure and responsibility to ensure things are moving forward, but I also had to remind myself that my job was to orchestrate and not to do everything on my own. If things didn’t get done, I could address the why, but I couldn’t force anyone to follow through on their commitment.

Nothing in life that’s worth it is easy. Being President is a lot of work, there’s no getting around that. But at the end of the day it was worth it! I learned life lessons, things about myself, and grew more than I would have ever imagined. I followed through on my commitment to SMPS, and more importantly to myself.

I am so incredibly grateful for this once in a lifetime experience. Thank you to the board, and entire leadership team, for everything you did last year. Our Chapter is truly amazing with tremendous momentum and energy. I am truly honored to have served as chapter President. I’m so excited to see where our incredible President, Maureen Varela, will take us!

 
About the Author:
Cricket Robertson, CPSM
Marketing Director, Corbins Electric

Cricket is the Marketing Director at Corbins Electric and the Past President of SMPS Arizona. Cricket is a huge SMPS advocate who took up rowing last year! She is now on the Rio Salado Rowing Club Novice Crew!

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