Bucket Full of Golden Moments

Purpose Respect

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Key Point: Build a bucket overflowing with moments to balance the jar with dwindling marbles. As I get older, I’m reminded of the “marble in the jar” analogy. So many people I’ve worked with, that I truly loved being with, I’m likely to hardly see. This is even more poignant with our children, all of whom live a geographical distance from their mother and me. Essentially the idea is that there are only so many marbles left in the jar. You get the drift. (Although some of you who know me might have put a different spin on the “losing marbles” idea… Haha).

The wonderful counterbalance is that my bucket for capturing golden moments is beginning to overflow. When I make a point of being present and allow my mind to slow, I capture more of them. This of course applies to all parts of our lives, but since this blog is mostly about work, let me focus on that. I’m not just talking about the BIG ones… The “good” or “bad” ones… Just YOUR moments. I remember standing in front of several hundred people at a company conference that brought together colleagues from all parts of the world for the first time. At the gala dinner event, the night was sparkling in every respect. I strode onto the stage as MC, grabbed the podium. The room stopped for just a second, at that moment I said, “ladies and gentlemen… Tonight … Right now… One of our team members on this globe is serving a customer”… The place went nuts with cheering and high fives. That was a “moment.”

I also remember tightly closing the door on the house that for 10 years was the office of the consulting company my partner and I built. It was a hot Sunday afternoon… No one was around… That was one of the loneliest and empty feelings I’ve ever had…A “moment” for me for sure.

And my bucket includes memories of too many friends I’ve had to fire… The look between us… The feel of the last handshake… Their backs as they walked out the door… Those are “moments.”

Right this very moment I’m on a bus driving through the town of Chippenham in the UK… The European home of the company I was CEO of for eight years. Truly, a golden moment. I doubt I will come back through this town very often… If ever again.

Character Moves:

  1. Acknowledge that the relationship jar of marbles is emptying. Enjoy those people you love to work with. Too soon, that will pass… You will miss them.
  2. Counter attack by filling up that bucket of golden moments as full as you can. Make it a BIG bucket. Stuff it. Add another bucket.
  3. Please write those moments down. Start now. One day, the other “marble analogy” from above will be playing tricks, and you will be happy you did.
  4. What are your top 10 golden work moments?

Golden moments in The Triangle,

Lorne