A few weeks ago I decided to organize literally hundreds of credentials from over the years, all of which were hanging in my closet on almost broken hangars. So I took them all off the lanyards and got them into one small bins as a first step. Now the question was what the heck to do with the lanyards. Could you recycle them? So, I did what everyone does now to answer complex questions. I went to Google. What I found was that people repurpose lanyards for everything from bracelets to artwork, and I even know of an artist…Maxwell Pierce, who you can find out more about here by the way…who does such things. But where to find these people?
My wife, as usual, had the answer. Facebook. Put the lanyards in a bin and put the request on our town website. OK. Why not? The result? The lanyards were gone in an hour, taken by a special ed teacher who uses such things with her students in arts and crafts. The kids, she told me, take amazing joy in learning the stories of the lanyards, and I had many from everything from The World Congress of Sports to the US Open, and then creating new uses for them. It was such a special treat for her kids to experience things they would never have the chance to, and frankly, that in the day to day of all we do, gets taken for granted.
I was reminded of these “little things” again this past week. My son Andrew works as an editor for NBA Entertainment in Secaucus, New Jersey. Never a “sports kid” but always one who was at the creative edge of content, AJ has found a new interest in sports because of the people he works with and the content he is involved with. Like everything else going up the ladder, it’s long hours, hard work, great attention to detail, late nights etc. etc. But he really seems to love it and is on a career path I admire, especially because he is such a hard worker and pays such attention to detail. Earlier this week he came home late at night and came into my office. In his hands he had a sweatshirt and a hat from last week’s All-Star game, things that were brought back and given out to those in Secaucus who were doing all the behind the scenes work. He had such a look of pride on his face because he felt part of the team, just by getting items that many I’m sure who were at All-Star or at Super Bowl or at any event where swag was being handed out, might have taken for granted. I of course am one of the take for granted swag people. You get so much of it over the years, sometimes you wonder where it all goes. However someone at the NBA, some manager, realized that these items did have value to those back on the front lines, and took the time to make sure that the box made it back and the items made it into the hands of those working. A simple but important gesture to remind people they are part of the process. A great morale booster. Now that does not always happen, and I have witnessed first hand where senior management forgets about those doing the little things to complete a complex mission. There is no thank you email, no gift card left behind, no items distributed to the rank and file. That lack of appreciation with the little things can lead to big problems down the road. In this case, someone at the NBA remembered what it was like to be on the back end, and made sure those folks go their little piece of a big thing. Well done, and much appreciated.
It also served as a reminder that sometimes that sweatshirt, that lanyard, that ticket stub, that souvenir cup, was a first, and sometimes only, emotional connection for someone to an event they experienced for the first time and never again, or for someone whose contribution to success may be overlooked by the bright lights and the big stage. It’s easy to overlook, but sometimes its not easy to remember the value, and the simple joy that those things can bring.
Now I do have a great amount of unique mementos, big and small. They are part of the fabric of a blessed career. But does every tee shirt, every notebook have such great value to me? No. But I’m sure each does have value to that first-timer, that usher, that special ed student, that intern, that we were once, and we shouldn’t forget that value when we get cynical and say that it can all be trash.
Someone’s trash can be another person’s treasure. Just ask the kids using the lanyards, or those in Secaucus who got the cool sweatshirts this week. Little gestures mean a great deal…don’t forget them. The joy they can bring when completing the mission is very powerful, and gets passed along tenfold.
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