Celebrate

Local Legend

Who is the person in the community that can reliably be found at a specific location (or event)? The community member who is always cleaning up trash from the side of the road while waving to passing traffic. The dog walker who appears at the same time of day. The teacher has been a fixture in the third-grade classroom for generations.

Our local legends are easy to take for granted because they show up reliably and relentlessly. We tend to notice them even more when they are absent. How might we celebrate and engage with them now instead of once a void appears?

Celebrate

How often do we start or finish our conversation (and meetings) with a point of celebration? Even our problems can be high quality challenges that 99% of peer organizations in our sector would be desperate to contemplate solving. Mindset matters and our attention and work follows. Celebrate, even if it is a rainy, cold, headwind. It might make you stronger and certainly provides the foundation for a remarkable story.

Tending the Fire

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Facing the fireplace inside a Norwegian hotel.  Outside the picture window, snow falls restlessly.  An elderly gentleman rests in the oversized chair next to me.  He is tending the fire.  He rises every few minutes and carefully places a single log onto the fire.  The fire never burns too bright nor dies to embers.  There is a method to his approach.

Fortunate organizations have a fire tender.  An individual who ensures the enterprise’s purpose is brought front and center.  They energize and revitalize.  A person with a sense of timing who can deliver fuel for the journey.  

Celebrate your fire tenders.  They ensure anyone encountering your organization find a welcoming and warm hearth.