Carlos M. Cruz’s Circle

Your Circle

I am privileged to have spent decades working where power, politics, and business intersect. The formula for becoming a Person of Influence has been my Circle.

The components of my Circle are my Why, Brand, and Humanity. Balancing these requires constant fine-tuning and attention. Others will succeed at your expense if you travel down a path where your Circle is unchecked.

Your Why

In Life, you cannot afford to lose your soul. Life questions who you are every day of your existence in the form of a What-If. Your ability to stay centered and not lose yourself can be challenging. You must be the master of your destiny, and it starts with a positive Why.

Shortly after Fidel Castro enslaved Cuba in 1959, my Mom became pregnant. She was beaten up, mentally abused, and subjected to so much fear she lost the baby who would have been my older brother. My parents eventually fled Cuba and started exile life in the U.S.

Growing up my Parents showered me with love and influenced me to positively impact others. I want to earn, appreciate, and share their struggles. Their plight comprises half of my Why, which fuels my soul.

My wife Ryane and sons Miguel and Sebastian fuel the other half. Spending time with them is so rewarding. I teach my sons lessons my parents taught me with the same love and intensity.

My Why has empowered me to influence others in my community, business and in politics.

Your Brand

Build a brand based on credibility and an innovative work ethic. Create an aura about you which causes others to gravitate towards you as a crucial part of a solution. Your Brand symbolizes your credibility and reputation. Your Brand needs to be seen as part of a solution, not as a part of the problem. Achieving a solution that benefits others is your goal, not just getting your way.

It’s nice to walk into a room and have others gravitate towards you. Family, friends, clients, and politicians should seek your counsel to provide possible solutions.

I advised a State Representative who lost a leadership race. He was worried about being relegated to insignificant committee assignments and becoming irrelevant as a Person of Influence. I advised him to focus on the top three supporters or “lieutenants” of the new Speaker. His task was to reach out to them, identify an issue they were dealing with (whether business or personal) and help create a solution. Over time, the speaker’s inner circle sang his past opponent praises and raved about his ability to solve challenging issues. The new speaker appointed him as chairman of a powerful committee leapfrogging more senior members.

Your Humanity

Look around. I see people lose their Humanity on an hourly basis. We have lost civility in our civilization. We must peacefully coexist. When you lose your Humanity, your Why begins to spiral, and your Brand is poisoned. Benefit Humanity and bring out the Humanity in others.

I worked with a client on a construction project in a local municipality. The client won the bid and began to do the work. There were a series of new bi-weekly reporting requirements which began to fall on deaf ears. The client thought the requirements were unnecessary and would cause construction delays due to the amount of documentation and time from his construction manager. I was asked by staff to fix the situation. The client was adamant about reporting monthly as originally agreed to. I arranged a meeting for the client with the city manager and public works director. The client elaborated on his experience and accomplishments in the construction industry and belittled the city project manager, who added the new reporting requirement, as “someone who could not make it in the real world.” The city project manager was the son-in-law of the director of public works. The client was right when it came to the newly added reporting requirements as unnecessary and not the norm in the industry. The clients Why was strong as he wanted to provide the best product possible but his loss of respect for another human being tarnished his Why and destroyed his brand.

Balancing Your Circle

Each of the three components of Your Circle nourishes the other. Getting ahead in Life all starts with knowing your inner self. Why you do what you do is who you are. Your Why guides your actions and creates your Brand. Your Humanity validates your Why. Those who do not know themselves are constantly questioning their Why and reacting to negative What-ifs. This constant battle keeps you from achieving your full potential. You will live with uncertainty and acquiesce to fear. Negative What-Ifs drain your soul. I see them as ferocious Tigers that reside in our minds. They are the ultimate takers and make you weak.

I use the diagram below to illustrate this balancing act. If you fail to balance your Circle, your Tigers will devour you.