A Letter from Chris Suarez
A WALK THROUGH CENTRAL PARK
I recently came back from a couple weeks in New York. I went for business initially and stayed an extra week as the family came in to spend some time in the city. We enjoy experiencing New York with a few of our favorite routines - visiting our favorite museum, passing some time in my favorite bookstore, listening to some jazz, seeing a show, getting in a few runs. This time we packed a lunch and decided to take it to Central Park one afternoon to eat out on the lawn. I found it a bit ironic that we left the Pacific NW (home of the forests and sprawling hills), came to New York (home of the skyscrapers and concrete), and decided to have a picnic in a park by a lake (the 843 acre park in the heart of Manhattan). After lunch, the kids played at one of the park's twenty-one playgrounds while I read a book and made a few phone calls.
As we walked back home, I couldn't help but appreciate how clean and well kept the park was - seemingly more beautiful today than I even remembered it being while growing up. It led me to begin researching the history of the park when I got back home. As I read about the history and many recorded stories about the park, an incredible lesson showed up in the process. I came across something in a book that I had never heard before.
In the late 70’s Central Park was in pretty bad shape. It had been left unkempt, the lawns and gardens were abandoned, benches were broken, and graffiti and crime were pretty commonplace.
The park is owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. In the late 70’s and early 80’s the eight hundred plus acres were being maintained by about three hundred Park Department employees. That could have been easily enough people to care for the grounds and parks, however there was no program in place to truly manage the upkeep. There was no process to get specific things taken care of or fixed at certain times. There was no rhythm of reporting repairs that were needed - even when they were noticed or known about. Over time, the park fell into a state of disrepair. That is until the Central Park Conservancy stepped in and took over management of the park in the 1980’s. It has overseen the investment of over $1 billion into the park’s restoration and upkeep since it was founded. The Conservancy president says that graffiti no longer lasts even 24 hours in the park, litter is removed every day by 9am, trash receptacles are emptied multiple times a day, lawns are maintained meticulously, and benches and playground equipment are fixed immediately on the spot. What has led to the night and day difference?
Accountability. There is now ownership behind the condition. The park is now broken down in forty-nine geographic zones - each managed by a one zone gardener who supervises both ground workers and volunteers. That zone leader owns their area as well as everything and everyone within it. If there is a problem, they view it as their problem. Back in the 70’s, what started out as some garbage and graffiti led to fear and crime. It wasn’t because of a lack of workers. It was because of a lack of accountability and ownership.
This shows up as a lesson both for our personal life and our business. If we show up as the ‘owner’ - regardless of our role in the company or the family - we approach every problem differently. Accountability leads to a solutions based approach.
Be accountable in your personal life. Look for areas in your life that you have been avoiding or letting get overgrown. Maybe we haven’t been tending to a relationship. Maybe we’ve let our health break down. Maybe our mindset has become unkempt with weeds. Maybe our personal life looks a bit like a crime scene. The usual culprit is accountability. We lack personal ownership in any one of those areas of our life. Break down your life into “zones” and be accountable to your personal goals and expectations.
Be accountable in your business life. Look for areas in your business that you have been avoiding or ignoring. Maybe we haven’t kept the same schedule that we used to when we were first starting in the business. Maybe we haven’t maintained the same energy around follow-up and conversion as we know is necessary. Maybe we have lacked commitment to the activities that it takes to get the results we want. The usual culprit is accountability. We lack personal ownership of our day, of our focus, of our activities. Break down your business week into “zones” and be accountable to your business goals and expectations.
What was once beautifully designed can seemingly overnight fall into a state of disrepair.Nothing stays the same forever without ownership and accountability. The Conservancy broke down the 843 acres of Central Park into 49 manageable zones and then assigned the proper amount of both energy and accountability to each of them. The result? One of the most beautiful and iconic city parks in the world. Learn that lesson. Break your business and personal life down into manageable pieces. Assign the proper energy and accountability to each piece and you will find yourself the owner of one of the most beautiful live’s and most iconic businesses in the world.
Chris