Author: Brad Lindemann

Once again, the Ambassador Leadership Team attended the Willow Creek Leadership Summit via satellite on August 6 and 7.  Once again, I left convinced that The Summit is the greatest leadership development value on the planet.  “No pain, no gain” was a reoccurring theme this year.  One faculty member particularly stood out as having experienced unimaginable pain in preparation for exponential gains in the organization he’s led since 1993.

Wess Stafford is CEO of Compassion International, a Christian child advocacy ministry that currently helps over one million children in twenty-five countries.  As an internationally recognized advocate for children in poverty, Wess’s passion for the children he serves oozes from every pore of his body.  When speaking on his favorite subject, Wess often has tears in his eyes and a lump in his throat.  How appropriate that this man of such boundless compassion leads an organization called by his single greatest character trait.  And, how typical of great leaders that such tremendous gains were only made possible by horrendous pain sufferred over many years.

Wess Stafford’s story is so poignant and powerful that I do not feel free to tell it here.  There’s something literally sacred about it.  He brought The Summit house down with it and left founder, Bill Hybels, at a rare loss for words in the aftermath.  His painful past is chronicled in the “Silent No More” chapter starting on page 143 in his book, Too Small To Ignore.

I’m still processing the painful prescription that I received from this year’s Summit.  I was reminded of a line from the movie The Way We Were wherein the male lead, Hubbell Gardner, played by Robert Redford, wrote of a character who was “like the country he lived in, everything came too easy for him”.  This line comes from the ficticious book authored by Gardner entitled, “A Country Made Of Ice Cream“.  It begs the question –does America suffer a dearth of leaders who have paid the prerequisite painful price of true leadership?  Or, has everthing come so easily for us in recent decades (excepting the past year) that we’ve passed the leadership mantle of “the greatest generation” into the ill-equipped hands of baby boomers whose ice cream cones are now melting along with the American dream?

On the positive side, the “no pain, no gain” theme has me looking afresh at my own painful past in hopes of discovering how those painful experiences can be channeled into a brighter future.  I’ve long thought that we learn much more from our failures than our successes.  I now think that past pain can not only be overcome, but it can be the very platform upon which an otherwise unattainable glory can be achieved.  My new hero, Wess Stafford, is living proof of this.  That’s why I consider his book, Too Small To Ignore, a must read for anyone serious about taking their leadership to the next level.

During our 33 years of marriage, Elaine and I have had countless dogs that have helped us ride herd over five children and three granddaughters.  Only one canine, however, became THE family dog.  His name was Kona.  Our two youngest children, Caleb and Bradley, grew up with Kona as their constant companion.  His recent sudden passing rocked our world in a way that we truly couldn’t imagine. 

I wrote the following piece primarily as a way of coping with my own personal grief.  Then it occurred to me that others might somehow benefit from my therapeutic musings.  After all, I’m probably not alone in my tendency to put my head in dark places while being too pre-occupied to stop and smell the dog food.  It helped me to write it.  I hope it helps some who read it. 

Our beloved chocolate lab, Kona, was put to sleep on Wednesday evening, July 8 around 5:10 PM.  His penchant for raiding the kitchen trash gave him a “garbage gut” that led to an acute case of pancreatitis from which he could not recover.  Despite the child protective locks, crafty Kona found his way into the trash whenever we’d forget to take it out before going to bed.  When I awoke last Thursday morning to yet another mess on the kitchen floor, I thought nothing of it.  The following morning, our normally ravenously hungry hound refused to eat and I knew something was wrong.  As it turned out, something was fatally wrong with our family’s best friend.

Kona was more than just a furry friend.  He was a gifted teacher.  He taught me lessons that I’ll never forget, though I was often too self-absorbed to learn them while school was in session. I guess that’s why he so often repeated the lesson about keeping my head out of my butt.  “From that vantage point”, he would bark, “the only person you can see is…you, and it’s not pretty”.  He made this point many a morning while standing patiently by my chair, nudging my hand with his nose and quietly grunting.  I’m just now realizing what he was saying –“if you’d just scratch me behind the ears, whatever it is you’re currently grinding on won’t seem nearly so overwhelming.  Ahhh yes, that’s it…now how ‘bout the other ear?  Whad I tell ya’?”

Loyalty?  Kona wrote the book.  Every morning he would hear me get up and go to the bathroom.  By the time I was out, he had left the comfort of his leather sofa (a.k.a. Kona’s bed) and plopped down in front of our bedroom door to await his early rising master.  Then the feeding ritual would begin.  He’d do his duty whilst I fetched the morning paper.  By the time I returned to the garage, he would be jumping up and down, barking loudly and frothing at the mouth.  Breakfast is served.  I was usually just finishing my first cup of coffee when he’d appear at the back door scratching to be let back in.  The timing was important to me, because I could let Kona in and fetch my second cup of coffee while only getting up once.  I was efficient.  Kona was loyal.  Loyalty trumps efficiency every time.

Simple pleasures.  For Kona, life was a steady stream of simple pleasures.  He was even named after one of our favorite simple pleasures –a hot cup of Hawaiian Kona coffee.  Cup in one hand and dog ear in the other…now that’s truly the best part of waking up.  During our ten wonderful years with Kona, he shared our home with many other little furry friends.  He loved playing with his barking buddies.  They would show their appreciation by helping him maintain a fastidious personal grooming program.   They say a clean dog is a happy dog and Kona was always a very happy dog.  I suppose that’s why he was so kind to his many attendants.  They had some canine quid pro quo thing going on…I’ll scratch your back (or whatever) if you’ll scratch mine…”a little lower…no higher…no left…now right…that’s it…that’s it…Ahhhhhh…thanks. Arf!”

Love.  Oh God, how we loved that dog.  Though love means never having to say you’re sorry, I can’t help myself.  Kona, I’m sorry for the walks we could have taken, but didn’t.  I’m sorry for the swims we could have swum, but didn’t.  I’m sorry for the sticks you could have fetched, but couldn’t, because I was too busy to throw them.  I’m sorry for all the times when my self-absorbed efficiency blinded me to your undying loyalty.  I’m sorry for the many simple pleasures I missed while worrying about things that invariably missed me and mine.  I’m sorry that I took your love for granted; while you lived to unconditionally love everyone in your path.

Kona, I’m sorry that you had to die to get me to pay attention in school.  But, now that you have my undivided attention, I hope you can teach me in death what I stubbornly refused to learn in life.  So, whenever you look down from that big leather couch in the sky and see me with my head up my butt, please bark loud and long until I take my eyes off myself and focus upon the things that really matter.  Things like loyalty, simple pleasures and love…and paying attention in school.  You will be forever missed, our faithful and furry friend.  We love you, Kona!

I’ve just returned from a 24 hour “missions trip” to the Hope Children’s Home in Tampa, Florida.  This trip was courtesy of my best friend, Tim, who has been so impressed by what God is doing down there that he insisted upon giving me a first-hand look.  I’m so glad he did.  Though God is no doubt at work in our “Carmel-By-The-Retention-Pond” backyard, His abundant grace is too often overshadowed by our sheer abundance.  Not so at Hope Children’s Home.

Over the past forty years, Hope has helped nearly five thousand discarded, abused, unwanted, or orphaned children.  But “helped” doesn’t begin to describe what they’ve been doing.  Hope children are given everything they need to lead healthy, happy lives, including a first rate education via the school on their beautiful 55 acre campus.  This campus is home to 70 children plus all of the staff necessary to support them.  Every staff member lives on campus and receives a small paycheck in addition to their room and board.  Executive Director, Mike Higgins, says, “Our staff members don’t merely come to work.  They are called to ministry.”  One house parent couple recently celebrated their 30th anniversary with Hope.  That’s commitment…the kind that only comes from a true calling.

Virtually everything on the Hope campus has been donated or produced with volunteer labor.  Amazingly, they have never spent a dime to feed any of their children or staff.  The Hope philosophy is to trust God to supply all of their needs…and they do mean ALL.  “Pastor Mike”, as he’s affectionately called by the children, loves to tell the miraculous stories of how God has met the needs of the children over the years.  Like the time during evening devotions when little Lisa asked everyone to pray for Frosted Mini-Wheats.  She later clarified that she only wanted Kellogg’s brand, not the generic variety.  It was eight-thirty in the evening.  While they were praying, a man knocked on the dormitory door asking if he could drop off a case of (surprise!) Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats.

Lisa’s cereal miracle highlights the greatest opportunity afforded every Hope child.  From two-year-old toddlers to twenty-year-old young adults, every one learns what it means to live by faith in a faithful God.  When Hope kids bow their heads to give thanks for the evening meal, it’s anything but a tired and empty ritual.  Pastor Mike’s successor once led the kids in at mealtime prayer at the dinner table, despite having no food to eat.  After they said “amen”, the phone rang.  It was a local restaurant calling to see if they could use the sirloin tips leftover from a large banquet.  And God said, “let them eat steak!”

The Prayer Needs board in the Hope girl’s dorm reminded me of a powerful Bible verse:

“And my God will meet all your needs…” (Phil. 4:19)

Hope kids pray for everything from food to toiletries to cleaning supplies…even feminine hygiene products.   Imagine being an orphaned adolescent girl asking her heavenly father for “pads w/wings”.  After just a few hours at Hope, I could easily imagine an angel with wings flying to Tampa to meet that need.  No imagination is required, however, to see the profoundly positive impact that such daily faith adventures have upon these precious children.  Their sweet smiles, sparkling eyes and tender hugs poignantly tell the story.

Disadvantaged children?  I left Tampa wondering if the truly disadvantaged ones lived in “Carmel-By-The-Retention Pond”.  I would encourage you to visit Hope Children’s Home and decide for yourself.

I started anticipating our 20th anniversary (April 1, 2009) early in 2008.  Whenever I’d mention it to anyone, they would invariably say something like, “Wow, twenty years in business.  That’s quite an accomplishment.”  To which I replied, “Oh, it’s not that big of a deal.  Many people have built much larger companies in much less time.”  I stopped saying this about halfway through the fourth quarter of 2008.  As the recession crashed our anniversary party, my perspective on twenty years of entrepreneurial terror did an about face.  Twenty years in business?  It’s now a BIG deal!

Of course, what’s a BIG deal to the guy who started out as “an empty suit pulling an empty wagon behind me”, is no big deal at all to the rest of the world.  Just how do I avoid turning my anniversary musings into a lullaby?  For starters, let’s keep the obligatory trip down memory lane short and sweet.

Heartfelt thanks go out to Elaine, my lovely bride, for believing in her knight in shining armor even when he didn’t…our five children (Joshua, Emily, Ashley, Caleb, Bradley) for putting up with a perpetually distracted father…Jean Louis and Pierre for forcing the world of entrepreneurial terror upon me…Don for being Butch whenever Sundance needed clarity as to just who “those guys” were…Bud, Max, Mike and Bob for taking in a broke and broken new partner…Julie, our first client, for filling my empty suit…Jim, our first consultant, for filling our empty wagon…Holly for awarding us our first true project…Carolyn for being the banker who cared enough to cry…Max, again, for being crazy enough to partner with us second time around.

Notably missing from above is the many wonderful current and past employees of Ambassador Solutions.  Time and space do not permit listing them by name, but each and every one is of immeasurable worth to our firm and to me.  As one of our “Values In Action” suggests, “we are people serving people”.  The ultimate measure of our success then lies in how well we have served.  Thanks to employees and alumni alike who served so well over these past two decades.  You truly made a positive difference in every life that you touched along the way…especially mine.

Were I to interview a guy who had just celebrated his 20th year in business, I might ask him questions about –Disappointments?  Accomplishments?  Surprises?  Do differently?  Mistakes?  Funny?  Sad?  Turning points?  Moving moments?  Went right?  Went wrong?  Inspirations?  The answers to most of these questions, though momentarily interesting, would be quickly forgotten.  And, were I to wander too far down this path, I fear what readers remain would miss the true point of the journey.  For you see, it’s not about measurable milestones or emotional highs and lows.  It’s about being true to who you are and, even more importantly, who you are becoming for having traveled your chosen path.

Twenty years ago, I cast my lot with four men who embraced a bold concept of what being in business was primarily about.  Rather than selfishly pursuing wealth at the expense of people, these men chose to pursue people at whatever expense.  Given their Biblical view of the world, it was a logical choice, but far from an easy one.  They truly felt called to be “ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us” (2Corinthians 5:20).  In other words, they embraced the notion that God has chosen to do most of His work and communicate most of His message through His people…His ambassadors.  Such a high calling is not limited to Sunday morning services and Wednesday night prayer meetings.  So, these faithful men took their sometimes feeble faith where it was least expected to be found…to the marketplace.  And by God’s grace, I became the fifth wheel of the divinely engineered faith vehicle that became known as “The Ambassador Group”.

Shortly after we passed our 10th anniversary milestone, I was captivated by another life-changing nugget of truth found in the Bible –“…without faith, it is impossible to please God…” (Hebrews 11:6).  Hmmm.  This strongly suggests that no matter what one does, for better or worse, if it is done outside the context of faith in God, it cannot be pleasing to Him.  Reciprocally, whatever is done by faith in God, for better or worse (even if it’s wrong), is always pleasing to Him.  I began to see every day less as the sum total of the good and bad things that happened (after all, who’s to say what’s good and bad?) and more in light of those things I did by faith versus any other motive (fear, greed, vanity, etc.).  When I combine this concept with Earl Nightingale’s definition of success –“the progressive realization of a worthy goal”, I realize that true success comes in pursuing worthy goals by faith in God.  By this measure, I believe we’ve known significant success over the past two decades.

As opposed to answering more questions, I am compelled to close by asking our readers a few:

• Who or what do you represent when you come to work every day?
• What is your measure of success?
• How are you doing against that measure?
• How’s that workin’ for ya’? (thank you, Dr. Phil)
• Where are you on your faith journey?

Wherever you are in your personal faith journey, I want to personally thank you for joining us in ours.  Though we may never meet, I know the most important things about you.  You are created in God’s image…you are of immeasurable worth… and you will last forever.  You, my fellow sojourner, are eternally important to God and, therefore, tremendously important to me.  Thanks to Him for twenty wildly adventurous, fun, faith-filled years.  I hope to share many more with you and wish you God’s best along the way.

Note:  Have you ever wondered How Good Is Good Enough?  If so, I highly recommend this short, but very provocative, book by Andy Stanley.

During tough times, one of the toughest things to do is to stay focused upon the few things that you can control, while refusing to be distracted by the many things you can’t.  In my experience, I’ve found only three things that I can consistently control –my thoughts, my attitude and my effort.  Let me hasten to add that I also consistently fail at my efforts to control these things.  Nonetheless, it remains within my power to do so.  So, I thought it might be helpful to examine what practical steps we can take towards controlling the few controllable elements of our lives.

Controlling Your Thoughts

Earl Nightingale, father of modern motivational thought, said, “you become what you think about”.  Within our industry,  George Fuechsel, an IBM 305 RAMAC technician/instructor in New York, is credited with coining the well-known phrase, “garbage in, garbage out”.  Zig Ziglar made a career out of warning us against the hazards of “stinkin’ thinkin’”.  The point is clear –whatever we allow into our minds and choose to dwell upon will profoundly impact our behavior, for better or worse.

So, if we feed our minds a steady diet of doom and gloom, we inevitably become gloomy ourselves.  In fact, experts agree that the current recession is more due to consumer psychology than to economic reality.  Americans are understandably afraid to spend their hard-earned dollars and are consequently exacerbating our economic problems.  We would all benefit from these words of ancient wisdom:

Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own “. (Matthew 6:34).

Many studies have proven that the vast majority of things that we worry about never come to pass.  So, if you want to play with winning odds every time out, then simply choose to focus upon the present versus borrowing trouble from the future.  Easier said than done, but perhaps these tips will help:

• Start your day with some quiet time devoted to positive readings, meditations, prayer and journaling. I have jump-started such times with the daily devotional Our Daily Bread for over thirty years and it has helped me immeasurably.
• Limit the amount of negative input that you take in from newspapers, news shows, talk radio, RSS feeds, etc. It only takes a few minutes to get the highlights of local and national news to stay informed.
• View every element of your life from a “glass half full” perspective.   Instead of complaining about the winter cold, be grateful for central heat.

Controlling Your Attitude

I’ve never forgotten the theme of a seminar I attended as a young college life insurance agent –your attitude is your altitude.  In other words, the altitude you attain will be determined by the attitude you maintain.  Truer words were never spoken.  And, it all starts with an attitude of gratitude.

Ungratefulness is not only unbecoming, but it is undermining to all forms of positive progress.  The spirit of ungratefulness stealth fully slithers into our lives, robbing us of joy and sapping the very strength we need to press on.  Slowly but surely, we begin to dwell upon what we don’t have instead of the countless blessings we do.

As you can see, our attitudes and thoughts are inextricably linked.  When you think about it (pun intended), attitude is simply the outward expression of your inner thoughts.  So, if you’re guilty of stinkin’ thinkin’, your attitude will follow suit –it will stink too.  Here are some practical tips for maintaining positive control of your attitude:

• Eliminate negative words/phrases from your vocabulary. If you need some help in this area, strike a deal with your colleagues by agreeing to pay a small fine every time you use one of the prohibited words or phrases.
• Look for opportunities to encourage others who might be having a bad day or have slipped into stinkin’ thinkin’ mode. A positive attitude is prerequisite to being an encourager.
• Adopt and meditate upon positive mantras (I use Bible verses), then verbalize them when faced with circumstances that could lead to a negative attitude.

Controlling Your Effort

We’re all familiar with the saying, “don’t confuse effort with results”.  What is less familiar is what I believe to be the more accurate interpretation of this saying.  The author’s intent was to suggest that effort really doesn’t matter –only results count.  However, I believe it is far more helpful to focus upon making the best possible effort (something we can control) versus obsessing upon results (something usually out of our control).  Yes, I know this would be heresy within many businesses, but it’s true nonetheless.

It is particularly important to focus upon effort during tough times.  In fact, tough times could be defined as those times during which it takes more effort to yield a desired result.  So, there’s no avoiding the fact that the first step towards getting through tough times is to simply work harder –more hours, more effort.  The proverbial “all you can do is all you can do” wisdom only holds true if you are truly doing all you can do.

A fool is said to be someone who continues doing the same things while expecting different results.  It’s not enough to simply work harder during tough times.  You must also work smarter.  Look for low yielding activities and STOP doing them.  One of the worst things you can do is re-double your efforts on non-productive activities.  Be ruthless in culling out such tasks on your To Do list.  If you don’t, your work-life balance will suffer unduly.

So what about work-life balance during tough times?  Just because you need to work longer and harder during tough times doesn’t mean that work-life balance is impossible to maintain.  There will be bursts during which you will be out of balance, such as when in pursuit of a rare lucrative contract or when coming up on a critical delivery deadline.  Be grateful for such opportunities and do all that you can to fully capitalize upon them.  Between these bursts, you’ll be able to restore work-life balance, albeit with a harder/smarter approach to every work day.

Here are some practical tips for controlling your effort during tough times:

• Work at least an extra hour every day, but avoid becoming a clock watcher
• Set achievable daily goals and stay on task until completed
• Identify and stop doing at least three non-productive activities
• Embrace the opportunity bursts as the blessings they truly are
• Do your best and leave the results to God

These are indeed tough times.  On that, we all agree.  I hope you’ll also agree that the above tips could do much to help us through them.  Why not give ‘em a try and let me know how it goes?    And then, as Zig says, “I’ll see you at the top”.

It was painfully to the point – “financs, rejection, loneliness, migraines”.  That was it.   Her entire prayer request was four simple, pain-filled words.    “Mary” had found the link to the Ambassador Prayer Team on our web site.  How fitting that “finances” was misspelled, as it seems that our entire nation has forgotten how to spell anything having to do with finance or money matters.  Was Mary’s list in priority order from most to least painful or was it simply all she could get out given the extreme pain she’s obviously in?

I’m trying to break myself of a bad habit I picked up as the current economic malaise came calling upon our company.   In response to the proverbial, “how are you?” greeting, I’ve taken to answering, “stressed but blessed”.  Sort of like positive self talk with a spiritual twist, I suppose.  Sounds better than, “it’s tough, but I’m gonna make it”, don’t you think?  Well, I thought so too until I read this from a book recently given to me by a thoughtful friend:

“God sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in you so you could rely on Him.  He loves to impress this stressed-out world by moving one of His children into and a through stress-filled environment with perfect peace.  That’s His way.”  (The Wonderful Spirit-Filled Life by Charles Stanley, p. 149)

Perfect peace?  Stressed but blessed?  As I read the above passage, it became clear that it had to be one or the other.  It couldn’t be both.  I realized that at its core, stress is nothing more or less than lack of faith.  Ouch!  Thank you, Lord, I needed that.

Contrast this to the Zimbabwean pastor I met on my mission trip to Africa last summer.  When asked how he was doing, Tatenda would always respond, “strong and blessed”.  The difference is quite convicting.  As I sit here comfortably ensconced in “Carmel by the Retention Pond”, Tatenda is fighting for the life of his family and the hundreds of AIDS orphans that he and his wife care for.  He’s strong…I’m stressed…thank God we’re both blessed.

Feeling more stressed than blessed this holiday season?  More than any other, the following Bible passage has helped me get through stressful times.  I hope it is a blessing to you as well:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6,7)

Have a blessed Christmas and a strong New Year!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Deep Survival:  Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Laurence Gonzales over the Thanksgiving break.  Within it I discovered many survival tips well worth knowing, including how to survive the current recessionary winter.

“The climb up the edge of the cliff was the hardest and most dangerous thing I’d ever done.”  Yates arrived at the top “shaking and so strung out that I had to stop still and calm myself.”  But it was that very ability to remain calm that made what they were about to do possible (p. 231).  Seasoned British mountaineers, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, had done many hard and dangerous things prior to attempting the first ever ascent of a perilous mountain face in the Peruvian Andes.  However, nothing they’d ever done would compare to their fight for survival, as they descended from that unforgiving mountain in May of 1985.

Laurence Gonzales is contributing editor for National Geographic Adventure magazine and a lifelong student of the art and science of survival.  His exhaustive research has revealed twelve attributes that are commonly found in survivors and lacking in those who don’t survive their life or death adventures.  His real life survival stories are riveting and inspirational, while his illumination of the science behind the survival skills is truly fascinating.  In fact, those same skills can be applied to any difficult situation one might find themselves in –from strained relationships to struggling businesses.  I found the book to be highly relevant on both a personal and professional level.

Gonzales has distilled his research down to “twelve points that seemed to stand out concerning how survivors think and behave in the clutch of mortal danger” (p. 287):

1. Perceive, believe (look, see, believe) – while those who don’t make it often freeze up or freak out, survivors’ perceptions and cognitive functions keep working;
2. Stay calm (use humor, use fear to focus) – use humor to relieve tension and fear to focus on what needs to be done to alleviate the source of fear;
3. Think/analyze/plan (get organized; set up small manageable tasks) – don’t focus on how hopeless the situation is but rather upon what you can do to make it better;
4. Take correct, decisive action (be bold and cautious while carrying out tasks) – don’t be reckless, but do be willing to take bold action when necessary;
5. Celebrate your successes (take joy in completing tasks) – success breeds success and hope, celebrating small successes also provides much needed stress relief;
6. Count your blessings (be grateful –you’re alive) – survivors become rescuers instead of victims, helping others helps survivors make it;
7. Play (sing, play mind games, recite poetry, count anything, do mathematical problems in your head) – engaging the brain in activities not directly related to surviving can actually increase the odds of making it;
8. See the beauty (remember: it’s a vision quest) – stopping to appreciate the beauty around will relieve stress, increase motivation and improve your ability to absorb new information;
9. Believe that you will succeed (develop a deep conviction that you will live) – perhaps the most important key to surviving is an unshakable belief that you will;
10. Surrender (let go of your fear of dying; “put away the pain”) – survivors come to grips with the possibility of dying and then do everything possible to avoid it, including compartmentalizing their pain so it doesn’t over take them;
11. Do whatever is necessary (be determined; have the will and the skill) – don’t wait to be rescued, accurately assess your situation and skills then do what you have to do;
12. Never give up (let nothing break your spirit) – don’t be easily frustrated or discouraged by setbacks, see opportunity in adversity

Deep Survival is worth the read for the remarkable rest of the Simpson and Yates mountain climbing story alone.    But, as you can see from the twelve points above, this book is chalked full of immensely valuable information for anyone facing tough times…like the current recessionary winter we find ourselves in.