Hi Everyone,

Happy Friday! Thanks for spending part of it reading The Lake Street Journal.

This week we’re talking about standards—setting them and holding them—one of your most important responsibilities as a leader. Let's get into it.

Leaders Take the High Road

Teddy Roosevelt faced an impossible dilemma: kill the thieves standing in front of him or risk his life to save them.

Roosevelt owned a ranch on the Little Missouri River in North Dakota. On the morning of March 24th, 1886, Teddy awoke to find his boat had been stolen. He was furious. The boat was a small financial loss, but as a deputy sheriff in the county he felt it his duty to pursue lawbreakers. So Teddy and his men built a boat and headed down river in pursuit.

The winter of 1886 was brutal. Ice floes were running down the river causing jams. After several days and 100 miles on the frigid water, Teddy's party came upon the thieves camped on the riverbank. He captured them and carefully weighed his options.

The closest town was 150 miles down a river blocked by ice. He was running out of food, and he couldn't go back the way he came. As Edmund Morris wrote in The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt,

"Any right minded Westerner, of course, would have executed his prisoners on the spot, and then abandoned the boats, and walked back to civilization. But Roosevelt's ethics would not allow that."

Roosevelt spent the next eight days doing the right thing. He took his prisoners down the river, lost sleep to stand watch, and shared the only rations he had—soggy pancakes made with dirty water.

After those eight grueling days, Roosevelt rode 15 miles on horseback and hired a man with a wagon to transport him and his prisoners 45 more miles to the sheriff's office.

Teddy turned his prisoners in to the sheriff after some 300 miles covered over more than two weeks. Months later, the men were convicted and sentenced to three years in prison—a mild fate compared to the justice Teddy could've imposed.

Always a leader, Teddy took the high road. Not the easy road. Not the road he could've taken without judgment or blame. He did what was right, upholding the standard of the civilization he wanted.

Roosevelt's example is a powerful reminder to all leaders: hold yourself to a higher standard. Do the right thing. Even when it's hard. Even when others wouldn't. Even when nobody is watching.

Seven Ways to Lead by Example

My daughter is two years old. She's firmly in her "no" phase, and she likes to do the exact opposite of what I tell her to do. We call her AJ, and she often says, "No AJ. No AJ. Not sit on that," as she is sitting on the thing I asked her not to sit on.

Within that context, I'm always open to new ideas on how to parent young kids. I also believe, as I discussed last week, that leader of your family is the most important leadership role you'll ever hold. So I really enjoyed this video of seven ways to lead your kids by example.

My favorite was about setting standards.

When your child misbehaves or does something you don't want them to do, you can ask them, "Have you ever seen me do that?"

If the answer is yes, it points out your hypocrisy, and it's an opportunity to say, "Hey, you're right. I shouldn't do that either, and we can work on it together."

If the answer is no, it reinforces an important point about standards. I'm not asking anything of you unless I'm also asking it of myself. That is the standard in this house. I know it might be hard, but let's live up to it together.

This is ostensibly a parenting video, but most of the lessons apply to leadership in any context. I think you'll enjoy it.

Stay At 17 Inches

I've shared this before, but it's one of my favorite stories about standards, so it feels appropriate to share here.

I spend 5 minutes re-reading this one at least once a year. Maybe you'll add it to your annual rotation too.

Workout of the Week

This workout was refreshing. It was on the easier side of the stuff I usually share here. Don't get me wrong, it was a great workout, but it had some rest built in, so I didn't finish in a pile on the floor.

"March Madness"

Every four minutes for five rounds:

• 15 GHD sit-ups

• 15 calories on the assault bike

• 3 deadlifts (315)

Complete the work each round, then rest for the remaining time.

Feel free to adjust the numbers based on your ability. The sit-ups should take 30-45 seconds. The bike should take about a minute at a moderate pace. And the deadlift weight should be about 75% of your 1 rep max.

Here's a short clip of my first round.

Quote of the Week

“The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.” – Ray Kroc

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Talk soon,

Joe