Chris Johnson - Capacity: Create Laser Focus, Boundless Energy, and an Unstoppable Drive In Any Organization

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Copyright 2018 by Chris Johnson and Matt Johnson. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Names: Johnson, Chris, 1957- author. | Johnson, Matt, 1986- author.

Title: Capacity : create laser focus, boundless energy, and an unstoppable

drive in any organization / by Chris Johnson, Matt Johnson.

Description: Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., [2018] | Includes

index. |

Identifiers: LCCN 2017044991 (print) | LCCN 2017051278 (ebook) | ISBN

9781119387381 (pdf) | ISBN 9781119387282 (epub) | ISBN 9781119386971

(cloth)

Subjects: LCSH: Organizational effectiveness. | Performance. | Organizational

change. | Organizational behavior.

Classification: LCC HD58.9 (ebook) | LCC HD58.9 .J637 2018 (print) | DDC

658.3/14dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017044991

To the future.

And to Eze, who inspires us to build capacity!

Pause for a moment and reflect on your station in life. How did you end up where you are now? Each of us follows a different path to the present, and we are never quite sure what the future holds. Our journeys through life are paved with hard work, luck, and a handful of critical moments. But if you really think about it, what influenced your work ethic and opportunities the most? As much as we like to think that we alone determine our outcomes in life, its simply not the case.

Despite everything we do to forge our own identities, we are all destined to become a little, or a lot, like our parents. Author Neil Postman once wrote that children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see. That realization may still be unsettling for a lot of us, but instead of fighting the inevitable, lets embrace it.

Just look at your family tree. Go back three generations. Its safe to say that your great-grandfather toiled away in a factory or field for a tiny fraction of your current salary. Some may not consider his life much of a success. But like every parent before and after him, his definition of a fulfilled life wasnt measured by material wealth, social status, or even his own welfare. He was driven by an innate desire we all shareto help create a better world for his children and the next generation.

Survival does not fuel ambition. Game-changing ideas dont revolutionize the world without a fundamental belief that we can build a better future. That unwavering faith in the promise of tomorrow is the ultimate cure for the human condition.

We all want the same thingwhether you are a millennial or baby boomer. We want to leave a lasting legacy to honor those we love most and to inspire those to come. We are all daughters and sons trying to live up to our parents examples. So, let me tell you a story about my father and why he inspires me.

My father, Chris Johnson (coauthor of this book), took an unorthodox route to success. While attending Western Michigan University from 1976 to 1980, he spent each summer working either at the assembly line at Oldsmobile or in construction. After graduating with a degree in business and economics, and filling out hundreds of applications for job openings, he still had not landed the dream job to which he aspired. The economy in Michigan was extremely soft, so he went back to Oldsmobile, installing bumpers for an entire year. With car sales dipping well below profitable projections, he and dozens of his colleagues were laid off. Despite the sudden upheaval, he didnt waste any time pounding the pavement for his next gig. After a couple of months, he was hired by Butternut Bread as a route salesperson, delivering white bread and Dolly Madison cakes and cupcakes. His workday was certainly not a piece of cake! It was a grueling, sleep-deprived, 80-plus-hour-a-week job that started around 2:30 a.m. and ended around 5:00 p.m. After a year of grinding it out with Butternut Bread, Dad went to work for Frito-Laydelivering Doritos, Ruffles, Cheetos, Munchos, and Funyons as a route salesperson. Frito-Lay was a much better job, with normal hours and the opportunity for advancement. After a year with Frito-Lay, he knew this type of work wasnt his calling and would never challenge him to be the best version of himself. He decided to go back to graduate school at Michigan State University in the exercise physiology program. During his first semester, his wife Paula (my mom) announced she was pregnant, and a few months later they found out they were going to have twins. He spent the next four years working full time for Frito-Lay, raising his new twins, and finishing his graduate degree from Michigan State University. He always had a passion for health and fitness and soon found his gift to share with the world: being the prevention guy!

Dad went to work for a hospital-based wellness center after receiving his masters degree. Early on he was recruited by Dr. Barry Saltman, a family practice physician, to help design and implement a training facility for high-risk patients. This group was littered with all types of chronic illnessdiabetes, morbid obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cancer, and heart disease, just to name a few. If patients had an extreme health problem or were on the verge of irreversible damage, they were sent to the Well Aware Health and Fitness Center to work with my dad. These life-altering experiences forged a wealth of knowledge in the health and fitness space that built the foundation for his successful future.