As many of you know, after 19 yrs 8 months, I have left Lowe’s on 5/02/14 to move into a QA Architect role with United Guaranty.
I wanted to leave my many friends and co-workers with a note that hopefully would last long after I was gone. Below was my message to everyone as I left today.
I know…..another farewell email for your mailbox. I apologize to anyone that doesn’t know me. But I wanted to make sure I reached out to everyone in IT and that didn’t miss someone. Even if you don’t know me, I might be able to give you something to remember about me today!
Being at Lowe’s for 19 yrs and 8 months has given me the privilege to meet so many wonderful people. As you would imagine, I have witnessed so much change, watched our company grow from a small office in Wilkesboro (which is no longer even there) to the ‘mall’ location in Wilkes, up to the first offices in Mooresville, and then the IT offices later on. I’ve watched us grow from a couple hundred stores to over 1700. I’ve watched us stand up Lowes.com and watched it grow so fast. I’ve lived through and witnessed several CIO’s and executive leadership changes, reorgs, “visions”, “roadmaps”, and many other changes.
I’ve had the privilege of working with some great mentors and leaders along the way. Of course, I’ve also had some leaders that have taught me a long list of things leaders SHOULD NOT DO. I’m equally grateful to both – because both have made me a better leader and employee.
I never expected that I would leave Lowe’s. In my mind, I felt it would be the place from which I would retire. But life doesn’t always let us assume the paths that we will take. As Steve Jobs once said “you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
I honestly don’t know where my future will take me, and to be even more honest, I’m not scared of it. I’ve been blessed with so many opportunities in my career. I’ve gotten to be part of the lives of so many employees and contractors, and I hope that I have been part of the change and growth of their futures. I have been in IT for so long, but I know that my passion is to tell the world my story, to write, to teach, to mentor, to coach, and to give the world something that they have never seen before. Everything I do from this point forward will be in line with that goal. And I hope that you join me in that journey and that we stay in touch always.
I leave you with some of my favorite quotes and thoughts – along with my assessment and input with them.
- One of my favorite books is called “How to Become CEO” by Jeffrey Fox. What an awesome book with awesome advices. If you haven’t read it, I strongly suggest you to. Some of my favorite quotes from this book are:
o “Be a Credit Maker, not a Credit Taker”
o “The Concept Doesn’t have to be perfect, but the EXECUTION of it DOES”
o “No matter what your job is, you can improve your company by teaching others what you do, why you do it, how you do it, and anything connected with your responsibility”
o “Look for ways to make your boss look good and your boss’s boss look better. Don’t’ let them make a mistake”
o “when someone says ‘I think’ or ‘we believe’ or ‘its my opinion’, that means they don’t know”
- “Never allow others to think you always have the best answers. This will only make them dependent on you” – John C. Maxwell from Developing the Leader Within You
- “Nothing Fails Like Success” – Stephen Covey from The 8th Habit — listen close to this advice. What works today may not work tomorrow. What keeps your head above the water today may not be enough to survive tomorrow. Continue to grow, evolve, and stay relevant.
- “The Drive-thru is NOT always faster” – Mike Lyles —- don’t think because it SEEMS easier or more efficient that it will be. Sometimes when I’ve sat in the long lines at a drive through, I’ve found that it would have been faster to get out, go in the restaurant and get my food instead of wait in line.
- “Be remembered for keeping calm” – Mike Lyles – this is hard advice…and I’ve not always followed it. But people will respect you if you work toward the goal without taking it personal.
- “Remember that you have 2 ears and 1 mouth” – and I think it’s by design — try to listen twice as much as you talk!
- “People will forget what you SAID…People will forget what you DID…but they will never forget how you made them FEEL” – Maya Angelou. Yes, that’s what SHE said. Remember that long after the discussions or actions are gone, people will remember how you made them feel. Be kind and respectful.
What is your five year plan? Do you have one? If not, you should. And you need to ask yourself are you doing something every day that is getting you closer to that goal. Don’t settle for being average. You have the potential to be great… find out what it is you do best, and do it better than anyone else!
To everyone that I got to mentor and coach and lead – you must know that YOU taught ME more than I could ever teach YOU.
My only request is that you remember all the great things we did together. We’ve learned, we’ve grown, and we still have “miles to go before we sleep”. There are so many ways to follow me, connect with me, and reach me. I hope and pray that you do!
Mike Lyles
Email: mikewlyles@gmail.com
All About Me: http://about.me/mikelyles
My Website: http://www.mikewlyles.com
Twitter: @mikelyles
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mikewlyles
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mikelyles
But for now, I wanted to share with you the presentation, which, thanks to the Software Test Professionals team, is housed on their website for you to view the slides and listen to the audio file. I hope you enjoy listening to it and following along as I did putting it together. If you were actually THERE, there is still room to learn something new each time you listen to it!
Mike W. Lyles 