Familly Comes First

It is one of the of the phrases that has made an impact on me through the years. It actually came from a customer. I was reporting to him some years ago as our outsourcing team was brought in to take charge of some of the software development projects within his company. He was a very sharp mid level executive with that particular seriousness characteristic of English gentlemen.

That was his answer when I finally told him that my grand mother had finally passed away that morning after fighting with a terminal decease for several years. That meant that I was going away for a few days since my grand parents were both part of our nuclear family. Even in the shock of the just received notice, I knew that I was not expecting that kind of answer. It came as a revelation to me coming from someone that I considered pretty successful.

Some people think that you can leave your home issues at home and your work issues at work. That day I experienced once again the fact that that is not true. We are only able to do that up to certain level, but at the end of the day we are persons. We can not split ourselves in separate boxes and leave the box we don't need or we don't want somewhere while we tackle our current role with another box. No matter how hard we try, we do not work in that way. Actually that kind of breakdown can do more harm than good since sooner or later it will ask for a mask from us.

Some people think that in order to be truly successful one has to sacrifice or to put in a secondary priority anything that does not smell like work around the clock, a promotion, or  a new business.  That day his answer reminded me that that is not necessarily true. And that it is something that we must decide about at every step of our way. Even though I would have left my office that day no matter his answer, I am really thankful for the unexpected lesson his answer provide me up to this day.

I sincerely wish you very happy Christmas for you and your loved ones!

Sergio.