Nothing like a good windstorm to shake things up around here. I was amazed at all the damage I saw after we finally came off the golf course. Yes, I played golf in that mess until 1:30pm when the hard-core femmes finally caved. And thank goodness we stopped when we did because the worst of it came through between 1:30 and 3pm. The drive home gave me a good idea of just how bad things were everywhere. Including at our house, where a huge tree snapped and put the kibosh on our horse trailer. And that wasn’t the only challenge we would deal with from Ike. Our offices lost power as well and by the end of the day Monday, we realized it wasn’t just a “snow day” we were facing. It was a week, maybe two of operating without power and a lot of work that had to be completed, including a new business pitch at week’s end.
I have to say I am very proud of my teammates. This wasn’t something we had planned for and so we got everyone together for a status meeting on Tuesday-in the courtyard outside-and proceeded to figure out what had to be done. At least half of our employees didn’t have power so the ones who did graciously opened up their homes and set up makeshift workstations so that those without could plow through and meet our deadlines.
Everyone grabbed their computers and hauled them to wherever they could find power.
I heard stories of folks sitting outside Starbucks to scab onto their wireless. Tumbleweed, our largest client, even opened up their conference room to us. It was amazing to see how everyone here at Current pulled together and got through the week. Some said they got more work done from home-or wherever they were.
And our web-based system, CurrentTrack, really helped keep everyone in the loop. We could stay up-to-date on jobs and “know-it-all” daily. We set up texting with all our employees so they received updates via their cell phones on the power situation at the office. Those who lived nearby took turns and came down to check the building, hoping for some light. We even used Kinko’s for our new business presentation materials, something we had not done in years.
All in all, it turned out to be a minor inconvenience. I kept reminding myself of all the folks in Louisiana and along the Texas coastline who were suffering major losses and thanking God for what little we had to endure.
Meaningful Change – One Click at a Time
January is a time for new beginnings and fresh starts. For some of us, that might mean joining a gym to get in shape. Due