NEXT

One of my favorite portraits was drawn by Norman Rockwell in 1944. The name of the print is The Tattooist. I purchased my print in 1988 from an antique shop in Asheville, North Carolina, when a co-worker took me for a drive to clear my mind after having worked all day on my dissertation. Rockwell’s portrait features a big, strapping guy sitting in a Tattoo Parlor. His sleeve is rolled up and the Tattooist has his tool out readying to make a change on the guy’s arm which has a series of lady’s names already tattooed on it. Each lady’s name has been crossed out, and now he was having his new lady’s name, Betty, added to the list. My nickname for the portrait is appropriately called, “NEXT!” NEXT is one of those declarations that extends from calling you out at the Beacon Restaurant in Spartanburg, South Carolina or throwing you a roll at the famous Lambert’s Restaurant in Ozark, Missouri. It refers to finishing up a task on your to do list, then moving on to the NEXT item on the list. NEXT is what we do when we choose to procrastinate, saying something like, “I will do that NEXT week” or worse, “NEXT year”. NEXT is what we get when we fail to perform adequately, and our supervisor discontinues our employment, and we have to search for the NEXT job opportunity. NEXT is when we fail to remember somebody’s birthday or wedding anniversary or other special occasion, and we convince ourselves that we will remember, the NEXT time. NEXT is raised as a question when we are uncertain of what must follow so we ask, “What’s NEXT?” or “What do you want me to do NEXT?” As leaders, the word NEXT can help or hurt us, depending on how we use it, but it is forever one of those words that everybody understands. It is a word that lets everyone know something is to follow at some point in time. Leaders know that NEXT means that an upcoming item, event or occurrence is imminent. So, I am off to do my NEXT thing, get a taco, not a tattoo!