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Giving Thanks
November 20, 2007

Last week I was in Atlanta at the NAPL Industry Trends Analysis Group (I-TAG) meetings. The I-TAG meetings are a focus group designed to help us focus our research, articles and consulting efforts for the upcoming year (more about this next time).

After the I-TAG meetings we had a consultants meeting. To start we each introduced ourselves. As I started to introduce myself, I stopped before saying how long I have been with NAPL and looked behind me at the boss.

The boss, who I will anonymously refer to as Joe, knew immediately why I turned around and he said “It’s 5 years and it’s on my desk”. You see every year on the anniversary of being hired Joe writes a hand written note to each employee, thanking them for their years of service.

After hearing this I made a little joke about his handwriting, because it’s worse then most doctors. The joke, which I use often, describes how difficult his handwriting is to read and how I have to drive down to the Colorado School of Mines (I live in Denver, CO) to find a paleontologist specializing in hierogylics to translate his pictographs. With the right timing I usually get a little laugh, especially from my colleagues  who can relate to spending 5 minutes trying to figure out if one word is printing, pulping, plumbing, or piercing.

When I returned home Friday before stepping inside the house I went to the mail box and found his note. It was a simple note, with a few difficult words to read but a note that made me smile and feel good. Thinking back about this now, I realize how giving thanks can impact both the thanker and the thankee.

So on this day before Thanksgiving I would like to take my turn and thank all of you who work in our industry. Although it is rarely discussed, it is people like you, working in the the past and present, who have been responsible for the majority of our recorded history and the learning that has resulted from it.

It’s one of the reasons why Gutenberg was awarded the Man of the Millennium. It’s corny to say, but it’s the printed word that has helped us learn from our mistakes and helps us to avoid repeating them. So thanks to all - who help us learn!

Posted by Howie Fenton on November 20, 2007 | Comments (0)