Posted on Apr 5, 2013

Real Life and Your Business

Here’s a little insight into the life of the Fergusons, and of another couple in business together, as written by my wife, Lori. The original version of this was posted on Leadership Couples.

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Real life happens even while you’re running your business.

Last night we had water falling from the ceiling.

At around 11:00 PM our adult daughter, who lives in a tiny apartment in our walkout basement, called her Dad and said there was a leak in her ceiling. Robert stopped writing his blog post (‘cause he wasn’t done his post for the next day) and went downstairs to investigate.

Sure enough.

The ceiling was bulging, the paint was peeling and water was dripping. (Can you imagine the expletives he was tempted to let loose? He didn’t. His lips were just very white because they were tightly held together.) Sarah and I were quiet.

Robert cut out the section of the ceiling drywall that was bulging and a huge torrent of water spilled onto the floor. Dirty yucky water. (And Robert just hates being wet!) We kind of knew what to expect because this wasn’t our first experience with a leak in the basement ceiling. When we purchased our house, we were informed that some of the piping was done with a defective type of system called polybutylene. The piping is fine, it’s the joints which can be the problem.

Yes. One joint was dripping.

At midnight.

There was no way we wanted to call a plumber at that time of night – and no real emergency, other than water all over the floor. So Robert turned off the water to the house, cleaned up the mess, and went back upstairs to write. Sarah finished her online exam. I went to bed. (OK, I’m the wuss.)

Stinky People in the Morning

I guess only one day with no shower doesn’t make you a stinky person – but there were no showers for any of us this morning.

First thing in the morning, Robert called a plumber, Knightdale Plumbing, run by a husband and wife team. (Whenever possible we choose to support a local business run by a husband and wife. Go figure, huh?)

Patty Mills answered and took Rob’s name and our address, saying that her husband John was busy installing a water heater that morning, but could come in the afternoon. Robert said she sounded a bit tired, but helpful and professional. (We wouldn’t understand why till John arrived to fix our leak.)

At the Ferguson house we all carried on with our day. Sarah went to classes, Robert was on the phone and I wrote.

Around noon, John the plumber called 30 minutes before arriving at our home (as Patty had promised) and then quickly fixed our leak. He had all the parts in his truck.

Yeah, John! Yeah, Knightdale Plumbing!

As John the plumber was getting the parts from his truck, Robert shared that we are also a husband and wife team in business. John and his wife, Patty, have been in business for more than 20 years, and also married more than 20 years. For this husband and wife team, this morning had a bit of real life overlapping their business. Their little son was up all night with a stomach bug – which meant of course that the parents also were awake.

No sleep. A sick child. And business must carry on… Does anyone else relate?

The Irony.

Robert is very deliberate on what values he chooses every week – they’re all from the same category. His post for marriage this week was diligence. Today’s post – Friday – always appears on Leadership Couples and Ferguson Values. Either I write it or Robert does. But the post will highlight a value… Guess what value was set out for today?

Endurance

Endurance: the power to withstand hardship or stress; the measure of a person’s stamina.

Husbands and wives in business together need to nurture the value of endurance.

Last month Robert was at a conference in Florida presenting on the topic of leadership. Learning how to lead isn’t a microwaved skill. It takes time. He asked the audience a question:

“What’s the secret to being married 28 years?”

You know his answer? (now, don’t groan…) 28 years. That’s the secret – one year at a time till you get to twenty-eight.

You can’t hurry up a marriage. You can’t hurry up leadership skills. You can’t hurry up a business. It takes time.

And endurance.

Let’s all stand up and give a round of applause to all the couples
who have been living the value of Endurance!

Thanks John & Patty Mills, for your help in keeping the Ferguson house up and running! (and not stinky…) Thanks for enduring the convergence of real life and marriage and running a business. We can relate!