Professional Acts of Kindness

One of the many lessons I learned about life and careers is, “If you see things before others, be strategic and look for what else they may be missing.” In 1993, I had just left Burson-Marsteller where I did media relations for IBM. I became a junior PR manager, slowly moving up the proverbial corporate ladder at AT&T. Two years later, I was bold and crazy enough to pitch senior PR management to hold its first (and only)

Internet conference for many of its 800 global PR managers. In fact, it seems silly to say this now, but the initial memo may have called it the “Information Superhighway.”

A key part of my pitch was connected to Josh Quittner – this “masters of deception” guy, who according to tech folklore, had “hijacked” the McDonalds.com domain and then made them “an offer they could not refuse” for its release. Or perhaps like the kids game, that was the message that was passed along to me over the “telephone” wire. I loved the principle and story (and Quittner!) and instantly ran with it. I found the WIRED article and threw his hat in the ring as the unique and unconventional keynote speaker we needed.

The best part of the story is the other lesson Josh Quittner taught me about recognizing those who are normally kept behind the scenes. When he agreed to participate, it was Josh who insisted that I be the one to introduce him because it had been my idea to hold the conference and secure Quittner. That act of professional kindness was a defining moment of my career, bringing me out of virtual obscurity into a visibility that helped me secure amazing assignments, including almost a year in Amsterdam.

I emailed Josh in December 2014 after more than 15 years to tell him this story that he may not or even should have remembered. I simply wanted him to know that I have never forgotten him, nor those two lessons!

Truth is, we all have people who’ve taught us volumes through their personal and sometimes quiet wisdom. Often, they have no idea that they ever said or did something that left a lasting impact. Josh Quittner is one many, many people I have encountered who have been that for me.

The Living on Purpose Project is a collective personal thank you to people who are exploring what they love. My conversations with everyday folks, celebrities and accomplished individuals – are not about talking to people who “have it all figured out,” or only for those who want to do some major career 180. It’s just real people sharing what we’ve learned (often the hard way) about life and career.

We can all learn from someone else’s lessons learned, “hard but necessary” advice once heard, or even failures. When we all share not just what we do, but rather why we do what we do, and how we came to do it, it is then that everyone can make better choices as we navigate similar paths and travel universal experiences. These choices are what will enable us to seek and maybe even find our purpose.

The Living on Purpose Project is part of my path to purpose.

What’s yours?

Yesterday I had one of my “cool” work days. The kind of days when you know you have things to do, and you are clear mentally that you must be at work, but you don’t physically feel like doing a darn thing.

I have learned that fighting other people and things (including ourselves) is futile. So I just “went with it” and did the part of my “job” that I did have interest, energy and time to do at that time and made it a “phone day.”

Long before I was a tween, I loved talking on the phone. Yeah, yeah, what little girl doesn’t? But even back then, I knew I loved it more than the average girl. At 13, I was beyond elated when I got my very own landline (Google it) extension in my room! If I was not at school, practice, work, or out with friends doing the things teenagers do, I was attached to this “dumb” phone that did more for me than any smartphone ever could later on. It was my lifeline – office, social calendar, dating site – everything rolled into one beige princess phone.

Back to my cool day, I needed to write, edit and re-edit some work, but I could not get my brain to embrace it. My body took over, and I propped myself up on my bed with my blue “husband” (that’s what I recently learned is the name of that support pillow with arm “wings” on the side), muted Law & Order in the background (an obsession and guilty pleasure I proudly admit), and with an Anna Quindlen book by my side, simply started talking on the phone.

Back in the day, PR, media and sales and almost anyone got the job done by “working the phones.” And since I factored in my mood and my motivation (not to mention the cold and sinusitis I seemed to have), I found a fun and cool way to work smarter, and had a far more productive day than had I would have had forcing myself to do something else.

We all have very long “don’t want to but have to do lists.” But sometimes, it’s all about mixing things up. Not only did I get tons accomplished with 5 new confirmed participants, 4 scheduled interviews, and 7 meetings, I had great conversations with colleagues and friends, and even a really touching moment with mom that left everyone smiling through and through after the conversation.
We all have days when we don’t mentally or physically feel up to work, but we also have realities like rent and mortgages and life that remind us that we are adults who if we don’t work, we don’t eat. So instead of fighting these days – join them.

Think of the parts of your work that you really do like: hanging with clients, an office errand (even if it’s getting out of the office at an unexpected time for an hour), or a lunch with a work friend, or being able to order from your favorite spot. Perhaps you too can be excited about the day of back-to-back meetings to offer you a cool diversion, such as great food and a break from your regular routine.

All I am suggesting from my tiny example is that when you work for yourself or others, you can find new and different ways to approach how and what we do at a particular time or on a particular day in order to do more than just get you through the day.

Even if you can’t rewrite your day exactly how you want it to be, we all can find little ways to do one or two things to turn an overwhelming “laundry list” day into one that is certainly cooler and little more fun than the day you thought it would be. Hope you can turn today into a cool day.

“Easy” by The Commodores

Sometimes life and career is about just about being “easy” and going with the flow.

Easy by The Commodores

Song(s) of the Week – Stevie Wonder: “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing” AND Cyndi Lauper: “True Colors”