The Importance of Being YOU!
I was on the road with my oldest daughter—chasing the elusive soccer scholarship—when my phone rang. On the other end, my second-oldest daughter was in tears. She had just returned from an invite-only lacrosse tryout for a regional team and didn’t make the cut.
I listened for a few minutes then, when it was my turn to speak, told my daughter how proud I was of her. I understood not making the team hurt, but putting yourself out there, giving other folks permission to hurt you, is a brave, brave thing.
My oldest daughter sat silently in the front seat—a rarity—and I could tell she was listening, too. She was going through her own struggle—playing for college coaches who loved her on film, liked her in person, but weren’t quite ready to award the scholarship she was looking for. Knowing how much each “no” hurt—no matter how delicately worded—and learning how to separate her image of herself from the opinions of strangers.
The process got me to thinking about my employees here at Northstar and, I guess by extension, the good folks who work with and for you.
I wondered—where would I be without the truly amazing people who work with me to put out this magazine, website, and conference? And then, I thought, do I ever tell them how awesome they are at what they do? Do I spend enough time catching them doing things right? Or, do I spend my time pointing out mistakes?
I realized, I can be better—and my guess is, maybe, so can you.
So, here’s a thought. Take a minute to consider the folks who work with you. Is there one or two who consistently go beyond the call of duty? If so, visit www.northstarpubs.com/YOU and nominate them to be recognized during the keynote at the Fall Festival taking place September 29 in Wooster, Ohio.
Our intrepid Randy Gaddo—LBWA columnist, Week-Ender columnist, U.S. Marine, retired parks director for Peachtree City, Ga.—is going to show those in attendance (and those tuning in online) how leading organizations use the power of recognition.
Your nominee doesn’t have to be in attendance to be recognized, so if you’re too far away to attend or it doesn’t fit into your schedule, don’t let that stop you. This is a “more the merrier” situation.
I hope you enjoy this month’s issue—we think we’ve got another winner.
Till next month…
Rodney J. Auth
Publisher
Fall Festival Information Goes Here