Today, I want to talk about the importance of gratitude and celebrating.
Regardless of your role in your organization, your family or your community, it is important to take a moment to thank those who make your successes possible. Let people know what sort of impact they have on you and your organizations. Everyone has the power to make a difference, and you never know which small kindness or show of gratitude might have a lasting effect.
It’s also important to celebrate successes, large and small. I’ve talked before about taking a moment to reflect and celebrate, but as this pandemic continues on, it bears repeating. Take time to acknowledge everyone’s contributions and allow people in your organization to voice their own celebrations.
For those who have been on a Cambridge Air Solutions tour, you’ve seen this demonstrated and you know how engaged everyone feels after participating. For others, I highly recommend that you leave space in meetings for your team members to voice their good news. You’ll be surprised how powerful the sharing is.
With that in mind, I want to talk about the AME conference for just a moment.
Yesterday we concluded AME’s first-ever virtual conference. Our annual conference has been one of AME’s bread and butter offerings since 1985. It’s something we’re known for among lean practitioners. We like to think — and the survey results back this up — we’re pretty darn good at bringing together the continuous improvement community each year for this event.
This is all due to volunteers and staff who create a vision and work together to see it through, presenters who want to share their expertise, sponsors and exhibitors that underwrite our efforts, and companies that are willing to open their doors so others may see best practices at the gemba. And, it’s because our entire community has empowered us to create these conferences and provided feedback on how we might make every subsequent conference better.
I am, of course, grateful to everyone involved in the conference. Whether you planned, presented, attended, sponsored, exhibited or decided to send people from your organization, the 36th annual AME International Conference could not have happened without you!
In his keynote session yesterday, Thomas Rajan, American Airlines’ vice president of compensation and benefits said, “Appreciate the power in the work that you do.”
No matter your title or your role, you have the power to make a difference, to show thanks and to celebrate. Take a moment this week to use your power.
And, as always, please stay safe and keep looking out for one another.
