Last week I reconnected with a friend who I worked with many times over my career. Chris Nunes just recently sold his NY- based packaging design firm and we got the chance to catch up on a range of family and business issues. Although our call got interrupted by a torrential storm in Raleigh, over two days, we got a chance to share thoughts and ideas for the work we each want to do over the next ten years.
The most important part of the call was that I acknowledged to Chris that I learned more about strategic packaging design from him than anyone in my career. We spent a lot of time on many projects where we did qualitative and quantitative design research for some essential brands. Chris was an important teacher on my journey, especially in the early days of my career.
I thanked Chris for helping me learn the difference between being strategic and tactical. Working with Chris helped me understand brand architecture and some hidden secrets about design. What an invaluable sherpa he was for my marketing career. I was direct during that call to express my heartfelt gratefulness.
The call reminded me that if you want one superb piece of advice, call someone who made a difference in your career. Do it now. I’ll wait.
Make a grateful call to someone who will appreciate your genuine sentiment of appreciation
Tell them that they mattered, that their influence on your work changed the trajectory of your career. See what they are doing, and perhaps, there is an opportunity to collaborate on some future projects together.
Reconnection and Being Grateful
For so many years, I have had the great fortune to work with people who took the time to help me become a better marketer patiently. I’d observe how they think – I’d challenge some of their assumptions only to learn a new way to see a problem by listening as they explained how they interrupted the data.
Through a simple phone call, I got the chance to say thanks for being such a great teacher to guide my marketing journey. I plan to write more about Chris and the work we got to do together, but the key lesson is how we are so busy moving onto the next email, client, project, or do – that we forget to practice gratitude.
There is nothing more uplifting them a humble teacher who isn’t looking for thanks. My list is long of people like that who took the time to patiently mentor and guide me on topics as mundane as using computer software to as crucial as how to be a better friend.
So, the tip of the day is to reach out and call someone who made a difference in your career. Just say thank you and express how much they help you on your path. Giving thanks is so easy to do, yet we forget to stop and say thank you in our whirl of work. Be grateful; you don’t need any other agenda.
I have written about some of these former colleagues like Anne, Mike, Paul, Lars, Nancy, Danny, Tom, and Britt,
My list is long, and I intend to keep writing and reaching out to share these personal stories. Most importantly, I plan to keep making grateful calls to those people who made a difference in my life.
I’ll bet you owe a grateful call to someone.
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash
