Appreciation

I had one of those "blue" (blue as in nice, smooth, touching, as opposed to a sad blue) moments yesterday. I met with my boss's boss upon his impromptu invitation to meet for a few minutes at the end of my working day. The conversation covered all the bases and was very productive for the both of us, but the most important take-away for me was the fact that he just wanted to say thank-you and how much he appreciated the work being done. I don't care who you are, it's nice to be appreciated.

I've "soapboxed" for years about this matter, both up the chain and down it. To say (a sincere) thank you to someone is one of the most powerful statements one can make. If it's from the heart, well deserved, and timely, it can produce more results, productively and emotionally, than money, gifts, and accolades. Whether you're at the top, in the middle, or at the bottom, appreciation is the balm that soothes the soul. It's one of those few things that can be put "in reserve" for a bad day, difficult customers, complaining clients, and poor corporate decisions. Appreciation can take the sting out of a twelve hour day better than Motrin. Very few people in business understand that it's more productive to lead someone through a door than pushing them through. Everyone is their career needs to work for someone that you respect and want to see succeed.

In the words of Jim Halpert "Not a bad day."

Punkd'!

I was tricked today. Tricked bad. But paybacks are always fun. I received a phone call from my boss asking if I would want to work a grand opening for the company. I said sure. Ellen is going to Spokane, WA and the weekend is going to be quiet. It wasn't until I received the original forwarded email that my boss had received about the grand opening. It mentioned that the "suits" would be there on time. What suits? Suits for what? I shot him off a questions about the suits and received a picture back of two previous "volunteers" who were wearing the very familiar Kool-Aid costume and one wearing an "Oreo" costume. Oh my God! I had been punkd', tricked, Rick-rolled, and taken-in one big swoop. So, on Saturday, in Rome, Georgia, I get to make the decision of whether I am going to be Mr. Kool-Aid or Mr. Oreo. I'm already working on the payback. It will be mean, quite embarrassing, and unforgiving.

Ever wonder about those times you check something like a watch, calendar, etc. and notice a very unique event. The other day while driving in my little red truck, I looked at the odometer (or something said to look at the odometer) just as it turned 250,000 miles..right on the button. This is not the first time something like this has happened and I always wonder if there just isn't something "there" that makes us look at certain items at a precise moment. I'll save that for the more cerebral friends I have and return to trying to figure out how to survive this circus we call life. Maybe I think of some ways to circumvent this life while dressed up as Mr. Oreo!