A Future of Our Choosing

It is our free will, our ability to choose, that sculpts the future. This statement may appear a bit of a misnomer since rarely, outside of an election season, is the importance and power of personal choice at the forefront of public attention. But in fact, there is nothing more potent nor more powerful than our ability to vote, and we vote every waking moment of every day. These votes are cast in the form of the choices we make, in how we commit our time, devote our attention and spend our money. Even the smallest decision represents a vote.

Unfortunately, one of the greatest tragedies of the human experience is that we undervalue the impact of our choices in crafting our world and our future. If you question this value, consider that all marketing and political campaigns exist for a single purpose: to capture, direct and retain your allegiance. Stated in more tangible terms, the cost of a single 30-second commercial during the 2019 Super Bowl was $5.25 million. Budweiser® purchased 5.5 minutes of our Super Bowl time. Moreover, in order to encourage us not to mute the sound or leave the room, they invested huge sums in production and promotion. All with one goal: our vote.

was the director of nursing at a large long-term care facility in Gainesville, Florida, when we were directly impacted by a major hurricane on Labor Day weekend in 2004.

We lost electricity and our back-up generators could only power essential equipment via outlets in the hallways, causing us to move our most critical residents, whose care was dependent upon electricity, into the corridors.

It was early September in Florida and the building had backup lighting but no air conditioning. Members of our staff who were not at the facility were home dealing with the damage or out of town on vacation for the holiday weekend. An incredible team of staff and volunteers worked around the clock to ensure our elderly residents received the best possible care. After four long days and nights, the power was restored. We all breathed a sigh of relief and congratulated each other that not a single person in a 154-bed facility had suffered any ill effects.

by Joanne McEachen

t times as I was growing up in Aotearoa/New Zealand, I felt like I was slipping off the edge of the world. It’s so silent in places that in moments alone I would wonder if I was still on the face of the earth. Back then, more than anything I wanted to leave, to go find myself—somewhere else in the world. Because what did a country like mine have to offer, a lonely little island in the corner of the map? And who would I be if I stayed there forever, linked to the land of my family and ancestors but hopelessly lost to the rest of the world, where it seemed that everything worthwhile was happening?

Does starting over with something new always fix the problem? Or does it simply create new ones while masking the struggles that drove us to change in the first place?

n today’s world, when something is broken we tend to throw it out. No real thought or consideration, just out with the old and in with the new, shiny replacement that promises to make life easier, better and more vibrant than before.

But the older I get, the more I begin to question the validity of this promise. Does starting over with something new always fix the problem? Or does it simply create new ones while masking the struggles that drove us to change in the first place?

was sitting at Peet’s Coffee sipping a café latte in Shanghai with China legend Bob Theleen when he leaned in and said, “Never bet against Hong Kong!”

The Fragrant Harbor is no joke. On a hot summer day, if you stand by Hong Kong’s famed waterfront, you cannot see or smell any traces of the origin of the name. It’s said to be a reference to the spice ships that once sat in the harbor trading incense. Still, one cannot help but marvel at the skyline rising up from the water’s edge. It has more skyscrapers than any city in the world and is a wonder of human ingenuity and capitalism.

First, a bit of history. At the end of the Opium war, the Qing Dynasty ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain in 1842. Later, the British acquired Kowloon and the surrounding New Territories with a 99-year lease. Since then Hong Kong has been the entrepôt between Asia and the world. Its industrial history is rooted in labor-intensive sectors like textiles, electronics and plastics. As China opened up, Hong Kong became the portal to the world’s largest market and was a bastion of financial, legal and operational headquarters for all the foreign companies hungry for a piece of the China pie.

Disruption, Disarray, Commotion, Uncertainty, Turmoil, Dismay

s I reflect upon the challenges of 2020, these are the words that come to mind. I know I am not alone; the COVID-19 pandemic has been disruptive on so many levels for everyone – personally, professionally and emotionally.

I’m not a stranger to challenges; I’ve faced and overcome my share of chaos and strife throughout the years. But 2020 was different. The continued onslaught of challenges, coupled with my own fears and anxieties, made it difficult to cope, much less plan.

wrote this down on a piece of paper the other day. I had just experienced a particularly successful shift at the restaurant and driving home felt that glow of wonderment, that all of the many moving parts particular to the restaurant business had coalesced as planned into a solid performance.

When I arrived home, I jotted that line down and thought about the army of people that make a restaurant run. Success doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and I alone cannot take credit for our wins even if I am on the hook for our losses. I have 85 team members who report to me, and every day I challenge myself to make their experience at work equal to or better than the guest experience, so they are motivated to not only survive but thrive in our company.