Everyone at Century is Someone's Precious Child
“The challenge is not so much to figure out how best to play the game. The challenge is to figure out what game you’re playing.” - Kwame Apia
The miracle arrived!
I got to witness something I did not see coming (the genuine excitement to serve and help from the older siblings):
“I just love her so much. I can’t wait to show her my room…” – Pink Princess
“BABY!! Me see baby!” (we’re working on gentle touches…) – My little bruiser
What’s exciting for our family?
It’s the opportunity TO love.
Our baby is BEING loved while our entire family has the opportunity TO love.
It’s 3AM. She's crying. I'm exhausted. My wife’s exhausted. I could be frustrated about the lost sleep, the disrupted schedule, the “inefficiency” of it all. Instead, I'm holding her, completely present, thinking: “This is exactly where I want to be.”
There's no ROI here. Just love. Just a cause bigger than myself.
Here’s what hit me while holding her: Everyone at Century is someone's precious child. (Bob Chapman says this but it's so real for me at this very moment.)
Everyone came into this world five days ago—or 45+ years ago— held by parents who felt exactly what I'm feeling right now.
Here's the thing: this passion for STEWARDSHIP doesn't stop at my front door. It can't. It shouldn't.
TO love for me is TO care.
(If you don’t like the word love, replace it with care.)
Building an organization of CARE is playing a long term game with long term people.
Let me show you what this looks like in practice: (highlighted in our monthly townhalls)
Eric gets a call late on a Sunday night from a Superintendent that a compressor broke in Kansas. Eric could have said: “I’m busy” or tried to trouble shoot from afar. But without a delay he drives down immediately 10+ hours one way to help! He got the crew up & running and boosting morale with his care for the cause!
Mark helps a teammate with a health situation putting the job on hold to get to the hospital. The person was the priority. The person felt cared (loved) for.
Chad without seeking any kudos goes above and beyond fulfilling multiple roles while a teammate is out of town for a funeral to make sure the general contractor (customer) is served.
These small moments of care. (love) That’s the connection. People depending on people. That’s where the magic of life (and business) is.
This is the beauty of being in a family business. We get to play a different game. Humans are not resources. Humans are the point.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to play a different game with you.
Here’s my challenge for you this week:
When you witness an act of service, tell that person in the moment. Don't wait. Acknowledgment is love too.
TO love is TO care.
I'm convinced: decades from now, we'll look back and realize the relationships we built mattered more than anything else we built. That's worth showing up for.
That’s the game we’re here to play.
Onward,
Matt