A Grace and Frankie moment if ever there was one …

Yesterday afternoon my friend Sharon sent me a clipping from 18 years ago, when there was a massive black-out in Ontario. The series of events we went through seems hilarious now but back then, not nearly as funny. At the time she and I were partners in a small ad agency.

For us the adventure started a few days before. We were working on a project that involved the acquiring of a very large number of all kinds of luxury items, from American Express Be My Guest certificates to Louis Vuitton bags, golf clubs, TVs, you name it.

Without going into all the gory details, let’s just say there was an epic screw up

Just a couple of days before the deadline we found ourselves — at 5:00 or 6:00 pm no less — with no merchandise! None. Zip. Zilch. The supplier had totally let us down. There was no time to get angry, no time for blame, no time for tears, no time to run and hide, no time to do anything but come up with a solution — pronto!

Day 258. Egos Aside

Want to know how powerful the spirit of collaboration can be?  Look no further than Boston, this past week.  Everyone co-operated.  Everyone was on the same page.  They worked as a team.

From the Governor to the Mayor.  From the local police to the FBI.  From the swat teams, to the military, to the bomb squads, to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives.  From the emergency workers to the medical personnel to the fire fighters.  From the runners to the residents to the business owners.

I wasn’t there.  I have no training in such matters.  Or, thankfully, any experience.  But this I do know.  If they hadn’t put their egos aside, if they hadn’t put individual agendas or prejudices or beliefs or preferences aside, if