Each year around the holiday season, I try to step back and reflect on life, family, friends, work, the existence of Jelly Roll, sensible pants, and even legacy as I age. Last year, I wrote about what I had learned during Elasticity’s first 15 years, the highlight of which was a reference to Starship and its remarkable song “We Built This City.”

Regardless, while the last two years of my personal life have been particularly gratifying, it’s been a challenging and stressful period at Elasticity. We haven’t been alone by any stretch. One of the most significant impacts of the post-Covid 19 environment has been the belt tightening of corporate America. This has dramatically impacted both nonprofit giving and outsourcing of professional services, among other things. We’ve experienced it first-hand and I’ve heard identical tales from not-for-profit executives and peers at other marketing services firms. 

But as one of my favorite songwriters, BJ Barham of American Aquarium, once wrote: “Tough times don’t last, tough folks do.”

During challenging periods, I try to think about what I deem to be superpowers—in reality, they are behaviors I’ve seen demonstrated by mentors, respected colleagues, and those I’ve seen up close and personal as they have effectively navigated extreme challenges with calm, skill and grace. There are three that I can most often point to, and ironically, they tend to ladder up into one another to some degree.

COMMUNICATION

President Theodore Roosevelt—one of the most influential Mustached Americans of all time—once said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” I believe this to be true. People who feel cared about by those around them feel more secure, are more engaged and care more about the team objectives.

Of course, no one can know how much you care unless you are willing to articulate it. Thus, I endeavor to over-communicate (perhaps a bit too much) as to how I feel, where I am and why I’m doing something to those around me in professional settings.

COLLABORATION

I once had the pleasure of sitting with U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper from Colorado as he discussed public-private partnerships and the strength of regional relationships in Denver. He used the phrase, “collaboration at the speed of trust,” which really struck a chord. 

Think about it: If you honestly and effectively collaborate (and communicate), you cannot help but to build trust. It’s why the proverbial smartest guy in the room—the one who thinks they alone can solve important problems that impact many—always fails. 

We accomplish nothing alone. Nearly everything that is good and exceptional in this world was created by some degree of collaboration.

HUMILITY

The historian Edward Everett Hale once said, “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something.”

I can relate. I am but one—one highly flawed, upright mammal, one member of an evolving team at Elasticity. I am just one set of eyes, one mind, one person striving to help an enterprise to grow and be better.

When I land a new client, it’s because our strategists have brilliant ideas ready to go. When we nail a presentation, it’s because our creatives worked late crafting the perfect designs and narratives. When we deliver results, it’s because our teams hustle behind the scenes making everything work.

For every visible success I might have, there are at least four teammates (usually more) who made it possible. This isn’t just being modest—it’s recognizing reality. None of us is as smart as all of us, and I’m grateful to be part of something bigger than myself.

Communication, collaboration and humility. In my mind, the ability to exercise these intuitively is not easy. They are indeed superpowers, and not ones that I am necessarily proficient in. But they are traits and talents I aspire to master.  

I thank those who have taught me important lessons in life and in the workplace, and only hope that I can live up to the lofty examples you have set.