President's Desk with Joe Harverson

This year has so far had its’ fair share of challenges. We are trying to grow the business in many directions both within and outside the nuclear material industry. We all have a role to play in meeting these challenges. The management staff must stay focused on growth and profitability, while the core of the company which is the first line staff, must focus on quality and performance. Some organizations and their members view challenges as situations involving, adversity, difficulty, confrontation, and the threat of failure. Challenges are sometimes viewed negatively as something management artificially creates to spur performance. Challenge sometimes means that change is going to happen and like all humans we are wary of change and tend to avoid it when we can. Sometimes we think of challenge in the sense of combat like a medieval joust or a duel. Challenges usually arise out some adverse condition or conditions that are changing or have changed the status quo. A relationship is failing, gasoline costs more and more, and that leak in the roof just won’t stop no matter how many times I have tried to fix it.

Adversity can precipitate challenge and challenges can certainly cause adversity. If adversity can create challenge and challenge can create adversity it seems that the loop is closed and we are doomed to the negatives we perceive. I would like to ask you to do away with the words challenge and adversity and replace them with the word opportunity. Think of the word opportunity and how you feel when you say it or someone says it to you. It is a powerful word. It contains hope, a positive outlook, and it speaks of a good future. If the status quo is changing and if the situation is not what we want, we are now presented with the opportunity to do something about it. If a relationship is failing we now have the opportunity to examine ourselves, our thoughts and our motives. We also have the opportunity to examine the other person’s thoughts feeling and motives. This new insight can be the catalyst for solid and honest communication which is the basic nutrient for a good relationship. If gasoline prices keep rising and rising and there is no way you can take that RV anywhere. You are now presented with the opportunity to meet your neighbors and host your friends. Just open the awning, fill the cooler, pull out the grill, send out the invitations and camp in the yard. Who knows what it may bring. If the roof won’t stop leaking, you are now presented with an opportunity for structural change. Consider a skylight in that location that lets the sunlight and starlight into your home or decide to add a second floor to the house. To follow my own advice this article should have started out with: This year so far has had its’ fair share of opportunities and we are excited to evaluate all of them.

The Buddhists have an attitude that there is no such thing as good or bad, just what IS. You have the ability to make any challenge or adversity into an opportunity.