Company Blog

If I should die before I wake

by Adam Zack — October 25, 2017

What have I done for you lately?

One thing we all have in common is that we are going to die. That’s sounds especially grim and Halloweenish, I know. Definitely doesn’t sound inspirational. But it’s true. I was asked the other day to help my dad write a eulogy for a dear friend of his that had recently passed. This man was one of the great family friends of our childhood. Always quick with a joke, polite as could possibly be, a great family man and humble all the way to his Irish soul. It was an honor that he’d ask me to help, and it made me think that when I die – when we all die – have we done the right thing by our friends, family, employees and customers? Will there be tears of sadness or attendance by duty only? Making the effort every single day to serve the people in our life and go to bed with the clean conscience of “I have no regrets today” helps thoughts of mortality not be so scary. If you asked your employees what they’d say at your wake and the best they can do is “He wasn’t a bastard every day” then maybe it’s time to step back and examine the everyday interactions we all have and instead of “What have you done for me lately?” ask “What have I done for you lately?” In one way, your success can be measured by the number of people that attend your funeral. The people you moved and touched (and not in the Weinstein way) over your life. Employees you didn’t even know you meant something to who have passed on kindness just because of something you said that mattered to them. It’s the little things that really do matter and there are lots of scorekeepers, and the clock is ticking, so let’s make a difference because you can’t take compliments and kindness with you, but you sure can leave it behind.