When I arrived at a trade show last week, I was surprised to find that the presentation booth materials we had shipped failed to arrive. I immediately called the delivery service but was told it would take two days to get the materials to us. That wasn't going to work, so I had to come up with a solution. I called several local businesses and was able to secure the resources we needed to "wing it." I stayed up all night to recreate our materials and handouts as best I could and arrived just as the local print shop was opening its doors the next morning. I bought a bunch of pens to hand out and while I didn't have time to get them custom printed, I attached individual note cards to each with my company's contact information. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't a complete disaster.
When I returned to work, my manager gathered everyone around and thanked the team for an “incredible job,” but only said “great job” in person and not in front of my peers. Most of the team wasn’t even at the trade show. It may seem like a small thing, but I felt a little deflated after all that hard work.
It was my first real job out of college. I was still trying to figure everything out. I stayed late reading through contracts and agreements to ensure I was up to speed as quickly as possible. I asked questions and sought out every opportunity to learn how the company worked. I wasn't expecting any acknowledgement. Let's face it, when you're the new one, no one knows you're even there. One day the CEO of the company stopped by my desk. I was a bit star struck, as I had spent years following this man's career. He was kind of my idol. He simply wanted to welcome me to the company and to let me know he had heard good things already. He told me a story about his first job out of college. We both had a good laugh and then he told me if I ever had any questions, to come find him. My colleagues never knew he came and talked to me, but it's a moment I'll never forget. Ten years later and I'm still with the company.