The Twelve Days of Gheorghemas: Day Nine

On the ninth day of Gheorghemas, Big Gheorghe gave to me

Nine Joyous Moments
Eight Hot (or Lukewarm) Takes
Seven Books For Reading
Six Footie Jerseys
Five musicians from San Antonio known as the Sir Douglas Quintet
A four-part Japanese life strategy (as told by our man in the OBX)
Three 80's Baseball Sports Looks
Too Many Entries,
and a Cameo That Will Go Down in History

I'm generally drawn to iconoclasts in my professional life, even as I'm not really one myself. I do have a bit of a 'fuck it, ask forgiveness rather than permission' streak at work, but I'm not tilting at a lot of windmills. Several years ago, an iconoclastic senior leader at my company addressed a gathering and told us that "culture eats strategy for breakfast". It's stuck with me since. (I didn't realize until later that it was the formulation of legendary business theorist Peter Drucker. Even iconoclasts get their ideas somewhere, I guess.)

Over the past two years, I've had a chance to lead a team that's larger than any before it in my career. A lot of the people that work for me are sales reps. I don't have much of a direct background in sales, and I certainly don't have very much experience in sales leadership. So I decided early on to let the people that knew what they were doing do their jobs while I focused most of my energy on building a culture of teamwork and accountability.

This year, it goes without saying, has tested that culture and my leadership.

I made a decision early in the pandemic to eschew the normal metrics-driven sales performance management process and tell the team their jobs were safe regardless of how much they sold, as long as they demonstrated the behaviors that matter to our culture. And I started ending every work week with with an email to the entire team entitled 'Week-Ending Moment of Joy'. 

It began as a way to help people feel connected to the bigger world and have something small to feel good about during the scary early days of the pandemic. It's become a cathartic act for me, and a community rallying point for our team. Most weeks, people on my team react to the WEMOJ (that's what we call it now) by sharing their own stories that align with the weekly theme. It's connected us across cultures and geographies and roles. It might be the single best thing I've done professionally.

And so for Gheorghemas, here are nine of my favorite WEMOJ themes:

I started sharing moments of joy back in April with this one, which we've actually featured here.

A colleague recommended this one, entitled 'Weightless'. It's a rush. I also dropped some Danny MacAskill on my team in May (in retrospect, there's been a decent about of cross-platforming going on - I've stolen liberally from G:TB to bring joy to my professional relationships. I think there's a best-seller to be written about that.)

In May, I shared the story of Emerson Weber, an 11 year-old girl from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Emerson wrote her mail carrier a letter thanking him for his service. What ensued was awesome:

Joy and sorrow are two sides of the same coin. So on Juneteenth in a year where more people became aware of that day's emotional tension, I shared Khalil Gibran's On Joy and Sorrow.

Then a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.

     And he answered:

     Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.

     And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was 

oftentimes filled with your tears.

     And how else can it be?

     The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy 

you can contain.

     Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was 

burned in the potter’s oven?

     And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was 

hollowed with knives?

     When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall 

find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you

joy.

     When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall 

see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your 

delight.

    

     Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, 

“Nay, sorrow is the greater.”

     But I say unto you, they are inseparable.

     Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your 

board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

     Verily you are suspended like scales between 

your sorrow and your joy.

     Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.

     When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his 

silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.

While I was away on vacation, I asked one of my leaders to fill in for me. He's an older guy, nearing the end of a very successful career in sales leadership. He's a teacher in the best sense of the word, and he's still working long after he could have retired because he takes great joy in helping people reach their potential. He wrote about The Kindred Spirit mailbox on Bird Island, NC. His wife's Uncle Frank plays a key role in the story.

Tim and Fred Williams are 22 year-old twins from Gary, Indiana. By their own admission, they grew up listening almost exclusively to gospel and rap, so their exposure to other musical genres was limited. From those limits came a unique opportunity to experience “old” music through new ears. The Williams twins started a YouTube Channel called TwinsthenewTrend, where they film themselves listening to songs they’ve never heard before and reacting in real time. Their authenticity and enthusiasm are contagious. (That's actually how I started the WEMOJ message that introduced these dudes. So, yes, I'm plagiarizing myself here. Also, you gotta watch to at least the 4:55 mark of the first video when the drum break hits.)

In late August I told the story of the inspiration for my newest tattoo, and showed this picture:

Her handwriting on my arm, and mine on hers. A joy that will remain with me.

“The first person on Earth who went to Machu Picchu since the lockdown is meeeeeee” – Jesse Katayama

Jesse Katayama is a 26 year-old boxing and fitness instructor from Japan. In March, he traveled to Peru in hopes of seeing Machu Picchu, the fabled 15th Century fortress. Before he was able to use his entry ticket, Peru declared a state of emergency, closing the UNESCO Heritage Site to visitors.

As my colleagues from Reuters chronicled, Katayama’s next move was unexpected. 

Rather than returning home to Japan and making plans to come back at a later date, Katayama found a room in the local town of Aguas Calientes, explored other local sites, and began teaching boxing to local children. His Instagram feed is filled with photos of kids wearing his favored basketball jerseys and having fun.

Finally, after seven months, the Peruvian government made an exception and opened Machu Picchu for one visitor: Katayama. 

And finally, I shared this incredible video of a groom surprising his bride (who is a teacher of special needs kids) by having her students join the ceremony as ringbearers and flowergirls/boys. I'm not crying tears of joy, you are.

If I were a little bit more secure in my place in the cosmos, I'd write a WEMOJ about G:TB, 'cause this place gives me a great amount of joy. It's always a balm, and this year all the more so. Happy Gheorghemas, y'all. Hard to express how much you mean to me.