We were sitting in our Executive meeting, when a very dear employee looked through the glass door and came in…
“You all are needed downstairs.
RIGHT NOW”, she said.
“We are in a meeting”, several of us said in our slightly confused state.
“You are all needed downstairs.
NOW”, she persisted.
She seemed determined, and we followed her lead.
We let the people on the conference call we were stepping out, and took the 8 or so Execs in the meeting downstairs…
We went into the elevator, and quiet filled the space.
“You are sure this is worth the risk?” I asked her, not specifying if I was talking about my risk or hers.
She shook her head confidently.
Ok, I thought to myself, either;
A. Our management company is giving us some kind of surprise award, or
B. The staff is having an intervention and pulling management into a room to give us a piece of their mind.
We walked in a single file out of the elevator and around the hallway to the conference room in the lobby…
A large table was set with a table cloth, candles and a beautiful breakfast spread. The Baltimore employees filled the room, and when we walked in, they started clapping.
I took a deep breath and tried to take it in…
A couple of employees spoke about how much they appreciated management, how unique a company we were, and how happy they were to be a part of the company.
As they spoke, I couldn’t help but have my mind wonder,
“I wonder if everyone here really feels the same way.
How many employees feel obliged to be here, because everyone else came?”
But then, I also thought,
“This is special. We’ve reached at least a few employees deeply. They SEE our intent.”
I was proud and joyful for many reasons… and my two sons, who are working for the company this Summer, got to witness it firsthand.
I was pleased, truly pleased, that several employees feel the genuine interest that we have in making our company a special experience that is authentic and caring and interesting.
And, my mind was constantly on all of our employees who don’t share their sentiment, who don’t see our efforts, and on what we could do to help more people enjoy their time and be grateful for our time together.
It was a special morning…
A wonderful surprise…
I thought, it takes a lot of effort to pull something like this off. We have some very special people in our company to take the initiative, to go through this effort, to say “Thank you!”.
“You are always acknowledging, thanking and noticing us.” One said. “We felt it was time to acknowledge you.”
A part of me wants to own exactly that feeling – that emotion – that our intent is truly felt and experienced by our company.
A part of me can’t help but focus on all of our employees that aren’t yet at a place that they can feel it.
And, there it IS… the “IS”… As with all of these situations, the question is not OR but AND.
It’s not, “Do all of our employees feel this way OR not?”
The truth is, “Some of our employees see our efforts and are thrilled to be here, AND others are not. We have an amazing company, with amazing people. Some are thrilled AND we have to keep working to make sure more and more of our employees benefit from our strategy and from our continued success as we grow along this journey.”
I was more than touched by the display of gratitude, by the graciousness of my colleagues, by the impetus to say “thank you.”
I thought to myself… this doesn’t happen too often. ENJOY IT!
I thought to myself, today is yet another little sliver of a life-long dream come true. And, our work is far from done.
We received engraved glasses and customized t-shirts that on the front said, “EMG EXEC”… and on the back simply said…
“WOW!”
WOW indeed.
And, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart
for the interruption...
In harmony,
Nestor