What I did today

I woke up at 3 a.m.

This was to allow me to shower, dress, and dash to the airport in time for a 6 a.m. (boarding at 5:15) flight to Chicago.

So I'm a Corporate IT guy. I sit in Denver (not our corporate HQ) through historical accident and personal preference.

But though I am not directly involved in anything involving the operations of the Denver group.  They are local operations, I am corporate dude, and never the twain shall meet.

Except that — well, I live with these folks.  And while, being an introvert, it would be easy enough to simply hunker down and be a rock, an island, I also buy into such rose-colored concepts as collegiality and boundarilessness and the idea that our "culture of caring" actually means I should be involved in the local operations.

So I've been part of the local office safety committee tied into the regional sports-themed safety program for the past few years, helping brainstorm idea, review write-ups, and be a good local corporate citizen.

In this year's sports-themed safety program, our local Denver team actually won a place in the business unit finals.  And I was (gulp) asked to be one of the presenting team.

(I was asked this last year, but personal circumstances made it highly undesirable to do so — though I felt guilty turning them down.)

So, of course, I said yes.  And last week, amidst being off at the corporate HQ all week for major meetings with my boss and his directs, I was also in the evening reviewing work being done on the presentation for the finals.  Hilarity and guilt (and lack of sleep) ensued.

Monday, I made it into the office for the first time in a couple of weeks, just to sit full-day in the planning meetings for these finals.

And today was the finals, at our office in Chicago. 6 a.m. flight, arrive at the airport at 9 or so, taxi to the office downtown, arrive just as the first pairing in the finals are kicking off.

We end up in our pairing for office teams in the early afternoon.

And … we won.

Now, despite the kudos for "the Voice" (which I got from numerous quarters), this victory was a collaborative effort of all the presentation team (four of us) and another half-dozen people back home.  But, that said, we're the ones getting the ticker-tape parade (though, to keep us honest, that means having to go into the downtown office when we land back in Denver around 2 or so).

I'm actually really proud of the job we did — both the actual execution and the concept being put forward — proposing an over-reaching revamp of the program to maximize engagement by all staff and encourage broader participation and a fresh coat of paint.  We, as a whole, did a great job, and the material that was put together over the past week or two was solid.

We had a celebration dinner — all the competitors — out tonight, and tomorrow my team flies home.  A job well done.