I Hope We are all like The Grinch (12-11-24)

This will be the last blog of 2024. If you’ve been on this distribution list for a while, you might recognize that I usually end the year with this entry. I feel it is just as relevant now as it was in years past. Besides, we watch the same holiday specials every year, so we can revisit the same holiday themed blogs, right? 😉 For our final blog of the year we will look at How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

During this holiday season I hope we are all like the Grinch. Pretty strange thing to say, right? Let me explain why I feel this way. You may know the story of the Grinch. He is a grumpy creature who decides he will try to steal Christmas from the Whos. He concocts an elaborate scheme and then steals all of the presents, decorations, etc. in an effort to ruin their holiday. This negative attitude is what we often associate with the Grinch, but this isn’t the end of his story. The Grinch grows as a character, and life is all about growing, changing, and becoming better.

The Grinch has stolen the gifts, and then he hears the Whos singing. All of a sudden it hits him right as his sleigh full of gifts starts to go over the cliff. “And what happened, then? Well, in Whoville they say – that the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day. And then – the true meaning of Christmas came through, and the Grinch found the strength of *ten* Grinches, plus two!” He saves the gifts from falling over the cliff, rides into Whoville, and serves the roast beast at the feast.

The reason I hope we are all like the Grinch this year is because he grows and becomes a better person. He begins filled with apathy, malice, and grumpiness, and then he allows love in and it fundamentally changes him. How have you changed and grown this year? Wherever you are right now, we have the chance to be better. Imagine how different the world be if all of our hearts grew like the Grinch’s.

Here is to all of us knowing what it feels like when our hearts grow three sizes in a day.

As always, thanks so much for reading. Your reading and encouragement throughout the year is the best gift I could ever ask for. Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, and happy holidays for anything you might be celebrating! I hope you disconnect and recharge. I hope you find peace, love, and fulfillment.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Island of Misfit Toys and not Fitting the Mold (12-6-17)

Last week we looked at Prep and Landing and the importance of everyone doing their part. This week I want us to reflect on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. More specifically, I want us to think about the Island of Misfit Toys.

In case you’re not familiar with the story of Rudolph let me give you a synopsis. Essentially, it’s a story of misfits. Rudolph is a misfit because his nose glows red. Hermey is a misfit, because he is an elf who wants to be a dentist instead of a toy maker. Rudolph and Hermey run away and end up on the Island of Misfit Toys. The island is home to toys who don’t exactly work in the typical way and/or toys that look different from the norm. For example, there is a train with square wheels, a polka dotted elephant, and a Charlie-in-the-Box (instead of a Jack-in-the-box). Eventually, everyone realizes that even though Rudolph and his friends are “misfits” they are still good people. Even though the toys might be different, they can still bring joy to children. By the end of the show, people finally begin to accept them for who they are.

You might already be making some connections between this story and life. The way I think about it, we are all humans, which means to some degree we are all misfits or at least we have all felt like we didn’t fit in at some point in our lives. If you connect this idea to work, it means we aren’t all going to fit the mold and that’s okay. Even if you don’t fit “the mold” you can still be great at whatever you do. I work in market research and am amazed at how talented everyone is and how different we all are. While we are all different from each other, we are all able to help the business define problems, understand customers, and make decisions. In my case, I might be a polka dotted elephant, but my polka dotted elephantness works for me. In the same token, I know all kind of people in sales, operations, HR, legal, medical, regulatory, etc. who are great for different reasons. We all have our own idiosyncrasies, strengths, and styles that shape us and enable us to be successful.

Another connection can be made if you look at life in a broader sense. Just because we are misfits doesn’t mean we are undeserving of love. The thing that has always bothered me the most about Rudolph is that a lot of people treated him like garbage, because his nose glowed. It’s not because Rudolph was a jerk. It’s not because Rudolph was an uncaring animal. It’s because his nose glowed. We are all misfits. We all deserve love and we all should give love to everyone else.

The challenge: Are you embracing your inner misfit? Are you giving love to the people around you?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Prep and Landing and Playing our Roles (11-29-17)

We are entering the home stretch. Many of us just have a few weeks of work left in the year. For these last few weeks I’d like to share some thoughts inspired by various Christmas specials that I watch with my family every year. This week we will look at Prep and Landing and the importance of everyone doing their part. Spoiler alert. This blog will reveal plot details of the show. By the way, this week’s blog is inspired by Anshu who suggested last year we do something on Prep and Landing.

Prep and Landing focuses on an elite group of elves that prepare every house for Santa’s arrival, so he can get in and out as effectively as possible. After all, Santa can’t do everything on his own. Instead, this group of elves preps the roof so Santa can land with his sleigh and ensures the children are sleeping, the dogs are friendly, the cookies are ready to eat, there is room for the presents, and stuff like that. The story centers around Wayne, one of the prep and landing elves who has been doing that job for hundreds of years. Over time he becomes disenfranchised with the work and begins to feel that the work he does isn’t valued and he’s not valued.

As a result of not feeling valued, Wayne doesn’t take the job seriously on Christmas Eve. There is a crazy snowstorm, and since Wayne hasn’t prepped the landing site it doesn’t look like Santa will be able to stop at Timmy’s house to give him a present. The situation looks dire, but luckily Wayne and his partner find a way to pull through and save the day. On Christmas morning Timmy is seen saying, “Thanks Wayne” as he opens his gift. Wayne sees this through the magic snow globe and finally realizes how important his work is.

How does this connect with work? I don’t know about you, but I’ve felt like Wayne before. It’s easy to get lost when you are working in a place that’s so large. It’s easy to wonder if what you do matters. It’s easy to wonder if what you do has an impact. If you ever feel like this I’d challenge you to take a step back to see what you are a part of. Think about our business for a minute. In order to turn an idea for a therapy into a drug and then to get that medicine to patients requires thousands of people, steps, and hand-offs along the way. If any of those things don’t go well we aren’t able to help the people we serve. For this to work we need everyone using their strengths and doing their thing. The fact is, whatever piece you are in all of this, you are an important piece.

The challenge: Are you helping other people see how valuable they are and how important the role they play is? By the way, In case someone hasn’t told you lately, thanks for what you do.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

A Charlie Brown Christmas and our Work (12-17-14)

This is my last entry for the year, so first I just wanted to say thanks to everybody who takes the time to read through these random thoughts each week. If you were receiving these emails a year ago you might remember this one. It’s about A Charlie Brown Christmas, and I couldn’t think of a better message to end on.

In the special, Charlie Brown is upset, because so many people are making Christmas too commercial. He keeps asking what Christmas is all about, and as you remember Linus finally steps on stage and delivers the core message. The core message of Christmas is love. Whether you are talking about the biblical story or you are talking about the spirit of the season, it is about love. It’s about showing other individuals that you care for them and it’s about showing compassion.

I think the exact same series of events happens to us in our work. We get so stuck on the numbers, incentives, competitors, tools, processes, etc. that sometimes we need Linus to step on stage and remind us that all of our work is really about love and people. It’s about caring enough about the people we serve that we will do whatever we can to help them. It’s about caring enough about each other and our team to spend the time and effort to build people up when everything else keeps trying to knock them down.

Here’s to being Linus, and when the time is right to being Snoopy and busting out some sweet dance moves http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUQX2B67KL4 I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season.

Peace and joy,

Andrew Embry

Flying Reindeer and Encouragement (12-4-13)

We made it past Thanksgiving and now we are in full tilt holiday season, complete with all kinds of Christmas specials including How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, and good old Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. It’s Rudolph and a conversation I had a few weeks ago with a colleague about motivating people that has me thinking.

Do you know what Santa and great leaders have in common? They help people believe that they can fly (in Santa’s case, it’s reindeer and not people, but that’s just a small difference).

I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I ever have walked into work and said, “Dang, this job is too simple.” In fact, I spend a fair amount of time thinking, “Wait, you’re asking me to do what? Do you realize that you’re sounding a little crazy right now? What you’re asking me to do is so big. I don’t know if I can do that.” I wonder if that’s how Rudolph or any of the other reindeer felt when they were first asked to fly.

The fact is that all of our jobs are complicated and only getting harder. Sooner or later someone is going to look at you and ask you to fly. There will be a moment, and in that instant you’ll jump into the air and soar or you won’t. Part of that moment will be on us, on our belief in ourselves, but part of that moment will be on the person asking you to do something difficult. Have they spent time building you up and giving you a reason to believe that you can fly?

I know this whole thing probably sounds corny, but think about the people you know and work with. There are people in my life who care for me, who inspire me, and who make me better, and then there are people who don’t. The ones who inspire me aren’t always people with fancy titles either. Santa (the historical or North Pole variety) is just an old guy motivated to do something nice for children. He still manages to inspire reindeer to soar through the skies and people to do nice things.

Here’s to helping people believe they can fly.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry