Labor Day weekend. A long-time favorite of mine.
Why? A few reasons.....
It celebrates a fundamental core American Value: WORK
WORK tends to be the ultimate act of output, where status, pedigree and up-bring are secondary to the actual work itself. Think YODA. Do, or do not.
It's a turning point from the dog days of summer to the crisp, easier air of the Fall.
We have one hell of a team at PAVERART. They have a level of GRIT I admire. GRIT (resilience) is one of those traits that is not talked about enough. It matters in so many ways.
Some thoughts on TEAM.
They are made up of HUMANS. Humans can be messy. Volatile. Quirky. As a business owner, if you don't accept this as THE game, the end is not far off.
I've learned through 30-some years in business, that every person has a story, unique, complicated, and interesting. Some stories are obvious. Some are hard to discover.
NEW talent NEEDS to integrate with the Veterans. There is a delicate balance the newbies learning the ropes through coaching and the new players figuring it out and finding their own way. No perfect answer, and can get messy.
Speaking of the young newcomers......Dominic, just wrapping up his 4th summer at PAVERART. He's now touched the Engraving Operation, the PAVERART Manufacturing side, Podcast producing, and Graphics design & IT support. Small businesses create massive opportunities for learning various areas of an operation.
I've talked about it a ton on our Podcast. The teenage workforce participation rate at 25%.....on a multi-decade decline is a major problem. When teenagers do NOT spend their summer working, they miss out on......
Muscle soreness. And the fact that they learn it goes away after muscles recover and get stronger.
Waking up. Early. Consistently. Answering the bell (or not) does not care about your pedigree. You can either show up, on time, or you don't. Learning that at 14 is better habit forming than at 24.
Team. Grizzled veterans tend to look at the world differently than a teenager. They like sarcasm. Ball breaking. When a 16-year-old is respected enough to be teased, that builds thicker skin.
On this Labor Day Weekend, I give a tip of the hat: To the builders. The Creators. The story tellers that keep life interesting. The Mentors who put their arms around the younger generation. The old guard that advocates for the younger generation to get their heads away from the screens, and to get out their in the real world.