I am grateful for the opportunity to be here tonight. My goal tonight is to celebrate your success, inspire your journey, and leave you with a few ideas to consider as you forge ahead.
When I was invited to speak and informed that the audience would be bright, successful, dedicated students, I wondered what I might say. Then I thought about my own children. One is a recent college graduate, one is in college and I have a son exactly your age, a senior in High school standing, like you, at the world’s doorstep. I thought about what advice I have given them as well as what they have taught me..
Specifically, I’ll propose a framework for your achieving success on your life’s journey I’ll borrow on sustainability principles developed at Weyerhaeuser during the past 110 years. I’m sure many of you know Weyerhaeuser, but in case not, let me give you some background. Weyerhaeuser is a forest products company. We plant, manage and grow trees. We make lumber. We produce pulp for diapers and tissues. We build homes across the country. In everything we do, sustainable thinking drives our decisions. For us, sustainability means delivering short-term results without compromising long-term success and prosperity. We think about sustainability as three pillars: performance, people and planet. These same categories can help you sustain success in your own endeavors. I’ll explain with a metaphor: a journey on the road of life.
Performance
Let’s start with performance. You’re here today because you’ve excelled. For any organization or individual, delivering meaningful results daily is the engine of progress. Whether your journey takes you down a crowded highway or a road less traveled, your engine requires regular maintenance and ongoing care. Neglect it and it breaks down. To operate at peak performance you need to continually refuel, periodicly tune-up and, most important, be a healthy driver with a clear destination in mind. Goals are your roadmap. Consult your roadmap often and adjust it as necessary. Eat healthy.. Get out and exercise - enjoy the scenery from time to time; hard work and fun need not be mutually exclusive. Keep your mind sharp and expect to work hard. No matter which path you choose, there is no easy road to Easy Street.
Academic success is important, but honing your mind will only take you so far. Instead, you’ll need to combine intelligence and book smarts with determination and street smarts – meaning the lessons you’ve learned along the road. In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell, one of my favorite authors, examines the traits of successful individuals and organizations. He found that just being intelligent people didn’t guarantee success. From Bill Gates to the Beatles, those who excelled had one common trait, they spent at least 10,000 hours perfecting their craft, applying what they’ve learned over and over. 10,000 hours, that amounts to 20 hours a week for 10 years. That’s a lot of street smarts. Inventor Thomas Edison said it best: “Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”
If it seems that ten years to achieve mastery is a long time, don’t worry. Choose a field you’re passionate about, and the years will fly by. Each of you has a gift, a talent, an ability that the world needs. As you pursue your dreams, find your passion and remember passion need not be devoid of compassion. Attitude is important. You can be an optimist or a pessimist. You can be a giver or a taker. You can be grumpy or cheerful. You can become lost or stay focused. You control the direction you set, but your choices will determine the company you keep.
People
This brings me to the people component of sustainability. Others will join you on your journey: friends, family, mentors, teachers, bosses—even critics and the occasional traffic cop. If you are anything like my kids, there will be at least one traffic cop in your future if not your recent past! Success is rarely a solo endeavor. Some will offer you assistance without expecting anything in return. Others will question your direction and will suggest a different course. Some will block your way. As your journey progresses, however, you’ll discover that relationships evolve. Treat everyone with respect, and you’ll find yourself driving a crowded bus toward a common goal. Occasionally, your fellow riders may disagree with the choices you make. When they do, remember that seemingly opposing points of view, when mixed with the crucible of human ingenuity, can result in brand new ideas. You’ll realize that when opinions differ, you’ve entered the wonderful territory of innovation.
Here’s a Weyerhaeuser example. Our employees run powerful & dangerous equipment, including massive tree harvesters, huge logging trucks, gigantic pulp digesters and large saws. Years ago, we made safety a company priority. We developed a comprehensive program with rules and regulations. While the program was successful at first, we soon reached a plateau. Then we had an epiphany: there’s a big difference between telling people what to do and leading people. We no longer make safety a priority – it is a fundamental value. Our safety program is based not on compliance, but on caring about each other.
“Help us help you,” we asked. We empowered employees to tell us what they needed to work safely. This approach resulted in exponential safety improvements. We foster a culture where every employee makes safety a relentless daily pursuitToday, Weyerhaeuser boasts one of the industry’s best safety records, and, an injury-free workplace, a goal once deemed impossible, is now within our grasp.
What can you learn from Weyerhaeuser’s experience? The lessons are simple: when you are lost, stop and ask for directions; nurture and empower those around you; when you criticize, ensure your advice comes from a place of caring and respect; when someone criticizes you, allow yourself to consider their input carefully; set lofty goals and reach high. You too will find the seemingly impossible within your grasp. When you do, you’ll make the world a better place, which brings me to the planet component of sustainability.
Planet
We all want to make a difference in the world. As you head down your path, you will find obstacles along the way. Sometimes the barriers will be external, placed there by contemporary society. More often, the roadblocks will come from your own limitations and misperceptions. There’s a difference between knowing something and thinking you do. Creating a legacy requires you to understand the difference and to break free from the tethers of popular culture. To illustrate, here’s another Weyerhaeuser example.
One of the top movies at the box office last month demonstrated the tenuous relationship between our popular culture and working forests. You likely read the Dr. Seuss story The Lorax in your youth. The plot goes like this. A young boy resides in a world devoid of trees and goes to the mysterious Once-ler to ask about their demise. The Once-ler explains that the world used to be full of Truffula trees, but he cut them down for Thneeds, his much-needed inventions. He did so despite the protestations of the Lorax, who is charged to protect the environment. At first, the Once-ler becomes rich, but the trees disappear along with the creatures of the forest, and the Once-ler goes bankrupt. In the end, the Once-ler gives the boy the last Truffula seed and implores him to plant it and nurture the tree.
In Suess’s fable, it’s all too easy to view industry as the Once-ler and environmentalists as the Lorax. That interpretation is an oversimplification, influenced by cultural conditioning. The interests of industry and the environment are not diametrically opposed. In fact, at Weyerhaeuser, we see ourselves as the Lorax, whose role is to grow the forest. As with most things in life, however, our narrative is more complicated than a children’s tale. Let me explain.
You’ve likely heard the mantra “Save a tree, save the planet.” In many ways it’s an incorrect notion. Trees are living beings and are not immortal. They will die and decompose, returning nutrients—and their stored carbon—to the earth and atmosphere. A tree can’t last forever, but a forest can. A forest can be "saved" in two ways. It can be set aside from commercial use, foregoing economic value but serving other purposes such as recreation or refuge. The public pays for this option through taxation and public ownership of land. But, that’s only a partial solution. More than 50 percent of U.S. forestland is privately owned.
There's a way to save private forestland too. The answer is to ensure trees have economic value. If people don’t use forest products, the value of timberland will diminish. Just like buildings that aren’t used – they lose economic value, people stop investing in them, and they fall into disrepair and blight. Therefore, to ensure we retain forests, we must grow, cut, use and re-grow the trees. It’s an approach that’s working. In the North American forest, U.S. forest acreage grew during the past century. In the words of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, “The best friend on earth of man is the tree. When we use the tree respectfully and economically, we have one of the greatest resources on the earth."
Whatever field you choose, you too will run into preconceived notions and misperceptions. They are like billboards telling you where to go based on someone else’s definition of destiny. To set your own destiny you will first need to disengage your autopilot. Habitual thinking is a form of cruise control, which is less than your best effort. Here’s a funny story about doing your best.
Doing Your Best
Winston Lord worked for Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Lord was asked to prepare a presidential policy paper, and after a hurried first draft, he turned the document in. Kissinger called Lord the next day and asked, “Is this the best you can do?” Lord said he thought so but would try again. After a few days of diligent redrafting, Lord resubmitted the paper. The following day, Kissinger called Lord again. Kissinger asked the same question. “Is this the best you can do?” Lord said he thought so, but he’d try again. They went back and forth eight times. On the ninth draft, Kissinger called Lord again with the same question. This time, thoroughly exasperated, Lord said he couldn’t possibly improve one more word. He’d done his best. Kissinger looked at Lord and said, “In that case, I’ll read it now.”
In everything you do, ask yourself whether you can do better. If the answer is “yes, I can,” then make it so. Not everyone will be as patient as Henry Kissinger.
I know that each of you is committed to success. You wouldn’t be here otherwise. As you move forward, remember your journey defies the laws of physics. Life is a perpetual motion machine. No matter where you arrive, there’s somewhere else to go. No matter what you learn today, there’s something new to discover tomorrow. No matter how well or poorly you did,, each new day offers the chance to do better. No matter how much good you do, there’s still more to be done. Approach challenges as opportunities. Respect your critics; they’ll teach you about yourself, and, likewise, you’ll educate them. Take care of your neighbors; they’ll lend a hand when you’re most in need. Nurture the planet; it’s our home. As you push forward, be confident that human ingenuity—your ingenuity—will solve seemingly impossible challenges.
Let me close with a personal example to demonstrate that a life of learning means you are never too old to start a new journey. A year ago, I considered myself lucky to run a mile. But I set a goal just to finish a 5K. Twelve months later, I can regularly run 7-10 miles and am committed to a half-marathon this spring and a full marathon in the fall. I’ve learned a few things from this endeavor to pass on. Never underestimate the power of believing in yourself. If you want something, go after it- it is never too late. Persistence pays off. Set incremental goals and pursue them daily. Pick yourself up after a set-back and move forward again. The combination of determination and enthusiasm is unbeatable. Keep at the winning tradition you’ve started here. Face setbacks and failure with grace, and success with humility. As you age, look back with pride. Move forward with passion.
From my generation to yours, we look forward to your making a difference in our lives and the lives of the people who will follow you. We are confident you will make the world a better place. Embrace your responsibilities, have fun and be sure to reward yourself.
Congratulations to you all, parents & students alike!
Thank you.
