Let’s highlight Jim.
At 7 AM on Thursday morning I showed up for a standard sound check prior to speaking for TUG, an association I had been booked to speak for over 2 years.
Finally the event, postponed since last year, was here!
Something was wrong with my laptop not connecting to the system, even though it worked the day prior at my other event.
Jim, the AV guy I just met, suddenly went into figure it out mode.
If you’ve ever worked with an engineer or IT guy it’s like watching someone go into a phone booth and become Superman.
I got out of his way as he went through every scenario.
The Audience would arrive in an hour.
He began running from his office, to his car, to every corner of the building coming up with solutions, never lost his cool, just went to work…
Jim eventually got it figured out with another laptop, a connector from his computer to mine, and a faux projector set up that would not be used for the audience but would allow me to see the advancing slides in my computer.
I have never seen anyone come up with this kind of solution, but he, under absolute pressure, came up with the unthinkable.
Why would I need to see my advancing slides in “Presenter Mode”? Because I create essentially a new slide deck for every client! Without seeing what’s coming next I’m flying blind in front of the audience.
The Audience arrived.
Everything was perfect from their perspective.
No one knew what Jim had just been through.
There was sweat on Jim’s brow as he quietly sat in the back…
Until I shared this story from stage.
The round of applause he received from the Audience was beautiful.
Under his mask I imagine he was smiling.
I met Jim an hour prior. We were not friends, he is the opposite of me in every way, an IT guy and engineer, and I’m…well, you know, I expect a hug and that makes me the opposite of the IT guy.
Yet he became my Work Family I speak of in my Keynote “The Promise”.
You see, he was part of the team when he did the work and came up with the solution, but NOW he is my Work Family, because when we recognize the talents of those who come to our rescue in the work place they become family. Not only did the crowd applaud but you should see what people are saying across all platforms as I posted it the very day this happened. Check it out for a little inspiration:
The Promise of the Team is to never give up trying everything we can in our power to make each other look good.
Jim made me look good that day at the Westin Lake Las Vegas.
Glad I can make him look good in sharing this story.
This is The Promise To The Work Family. Acknowledging the greatness of each other.
The ICM Process portion on “Clarify” gives us the opportunity to highlight what we see as the skills, gifts and talents of those we work with. So here we go!
Jim’s Signature Moves include:
Creativity
Perseverance
Ingenuity
Grit
Focus
Problem Solving
Can-Do Attitude
A Great Attitude
Ownership
He didn’t place the blame on me, and he could have…he took ownership of his responsibility to make me look good and hustled to make it happen.
Cheers to Jim, and the many AV teams behind the scenes, see: geniuses, who do this daily for speakers like me.
Glad Jim found me on LinkedIn, if you feel like dropping him a note of congrats for his Keeping The Promise I’m sure he’d love to hear from you.
#thePromise #Jim The Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort & Spa
Want more ideas on how you can become a Promise Leader and recognize the Signature Moves of those you LEAD in your Organization?
Join us for Live2Lead in Salt Lake City, UT
October 29, 2021 – Limited seats available.
Click HERE to get your seat and enjoy the PCX of The Promise Institute!
~ Jason Hewlett & The Promise Institute
* The Promise Institute Co-Founders
* Promise Culture Keynote Speaker
* Speaker Hall of Fame
Author of “The Promise To The One”
2 Responses
Loved this story about Jim and they ways in which you honored and acknowledged him.
You continue to do good work in the world, Jason, and walk your talk.
Thank you my friend for your continued support!