On March 13th — or Friday the 13th— I celebrated a birthday with my family in Encinitas, California. My daughter cooked an incredible dinner, and my Dad, who I’m lucky enough to share my birthday with, was so happy everyone was together. I could see in his eyes, just how much he appreciated everyone being together.
I started thinking about this, I mean, how strange is this? That we have to have a birthday or an event to get together.
I have to admit that, with the crazy work schedules and kid schedules we all have, getting together is not as easy as it should be. But let’s just tell it like it is… We also forget to reach out to each other sometimes, because of our obsession — mine, too — with all the little screens that control our lives — phones, email, iPads, TVs, etc. And I think we need to remember that story telling is still just as important as it was before we ever looked into a computer screen or TV.
So, I “watched” this birthday for my Dad and me unfold. I let myself become involved in the story that was being told, and it seemed to me that what everyone was striving for was insight and information about the family. The legacies of our family. It was fascinating to watch, like “Marketing 101” or “Branding 101”, only for my family name and legacy.
Whether you are a family, a group of individuals with a common name, or another type of family like a group of friends, or even a group of colleagues — you are about the stories. This was just another ping to me, that relationships and stories matter. Yes, relationships and stories are critical to everything we do because these relationships and stories create the culture of your family and your company.
So, as much as the dinner reminded me that as a family we should get together and tell stories… In business, how many of us get together to tell stories? Not PowerPoints or agendas, but simply hanging together and talking — no phones, no text and no email.
This connection, your business connection, is no different than a family. It shouldn’t take a birthday or a big quarter for you to get together with your business family.
More and more, I am feeling that this critical insight in business — the human touch, the sound of a human voice, vibrating in your ear — might be the most critical thing you can do for your life today. Celebrate the sound of another individual, or the heart beat of a person who you work with. And the point of this blog is, make the effort to get together more than once a year. You should strive to make story telling a part of your daily life.
The biggest compliment you can pay another person is to be present . So let’s be present, with our family, friends and work colleagues, every day. And tell stories, starting now.
AZ
