Labor Day is a great reminder of remembering those who work with us and on our behalf to lead us towards success. A recent Inc.com article, “On Labor Day, While You’re Not Working” explores just that thought.
Sometimes, these holidays are a marking of a season rather than a remembrance. The author encourages us to be a bit more reflective, especially of the unseen.
It’s a useful day on which to contemplate how much we all depend on the labor of others, without which we really could do nothing. I’m talking about the food we buy that’s grown, delivered, and sold by an army of farmers, truck drivers, and store assistants, the Internet we access because someone somewhere is minding the servers (as Andrew Blum has demonstrated, they’re not in the "cloud" but mostly underground), and the garbage collectors who ensure we aren’t sitting in a mess of our own making. Almost all labor is invisible, but we depend on it and would soon notice its absence.
It is encouraging to note that while some corporate leaders such as Martha Stewart and Steve Jobs may be revered, the author reminds us that even they had help and encouragement along the way.
Good leaders recognize their dependence on the abilities, skills, and talent of others. As the author iterates, “Great companies are build through collaboration, argument, debate, and dissent that take good ideas, test them and stretch them.”
The ability to build great teams who can work through a strategic process to create possibilities is a central foundation of the services we offer through meeting space that encourages active strategic planning to team adventures that build cohesion and engagement. Recognizing that there are places, teams, and leaders everywhere who help us and everyone succeed is a good reflection to have as we move from Labor Day to the end of the year business rush.
Stephanie Ringer, September 4, 2012
