If you want to go fast, go alone, If you want to go far, go with others.

Point to Ponder: The relationships of heart stay much longer than the work relationships. – Pravin R Shah
August 5th is 35th anniversary of Friday Stories during evening car rides with our children. It is also 15th anniversary on internet.

Story Line:
“At (company name) you become irrelevant as soon as you resign and you are forgotten soon after you are gone. It’s no longer the company you knew from the last time you were here” advised the senior person who was assigned as my buddy for smooth integration into the company. Soon after I got a dose of it when I approached a factory manager asking politely if he had a minute to talk. “Only if you have something useful to say” was the reply and he walked away.

I was a little disturbed but not discouraged. We spend more 11 to 12 hours (in some industries a lot more) in work related things during the day, and discounting sleep and other necessities, we are lucky to have two to three hours of family time. That means the time we spend with people at work is more than 5X times what we spend with our loved ones at home. Throughout my career, my associates at work have been my family there. I decided not to approach it any differently in this changed environment.

And for the next eighteen years, our global group spanning many countries and cultures worked as a team, as a well functional family, and accomplished some phenomenal results as measured and acknowledged by the Real Customers. A little more than four years ago, I said my final goodbye to the industry. However the relationships with many people I worked with have stayed strong and daily notes and many visits have continued.

The advice I got my father when I was 12 years old has worked in career and life “ Most important business relations are personal ones.”

Reflection:
Recently my wife and I visited Oregon and met some of my old colleagues there. One has retired, one has moved on to other company and others are still at the original company.

Here are a few memories of five days we spent. (Using a few lines of Barbara Bush speech at Wellesley for narration)

Cherish your human connections, your relationships with family and friends.

For several years you’ve had impressed upon you the importance to your career of dedication & hard work, and of course that’s true.

But as important as your obligations as a doctor, a lawyer, a business leader will be, you are a human being first and those human connections with spouses, with children, with friends are the most important investment you will ever make.

At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a child, a friend or a parent.

Friends never say "Good Bye"  They simply say "See you again."