The Wonder Years — Tip of the Week

I’ve been reminiscing lately, leading to this week’s tip. Much of it has been about growing up, which I sometimes catch myself thinking makes up most of my life, when it, in fact, makes up only a small part. But it was an important part, and my memories of those days are strong. I’ve also started reminiscing about past jobs. They actually make up most of my life, some of them evoking good memories, some not so good. I was lucky to have bosses from time to time — just as I had teachers — who left an indelibly positive mark on me.

What mark are we leaving on our employees today? Much has been written lately on employees being fed up with the “new normal” jobs in which they find themselves trapped. These jobs are better than unemployment, but the memories of them will be bitter. What will our employees remember about us?

One of my favorite TV shows ever is The Wonder Years, a show about growing up in the late 60′s and early 70′s. The principal character was Kevin Arnold played by Fred Savage. There was a narrator for each episode — Daniel Stern –  an older Kevin looking back on his teenage years and finally making sense of them. In the last episode, the narrator’s final voice-over says something we should hope our employees will say a version of, when they think back on their work with us:

“Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you’re in diapers, the next you’re gone. I remember a place, a town, a house like a lot of houses. A yard like a lot of other yards. On a street like a lot of other streets. And the thing is, after all these years, I still look back with wonder.”