Tomorrow is 'Fat Tuesday,' the epicenter of the celebration of Mardi Gras. Those two words evoke a lot of imagery for a lot of different folks, but any of you who know me probably aren't surprised that, to me, it is all about the music. That quintessential sound of brass bands plying their trade with the unmistakable blend of New Orleans jazz and Dixieland conjuring the images of a second-line parade strutting through the Quarter... there's really nothing like it in the world (though we do have our own thing here in Philly which has a shared history with Mardi Gras, but that's a story for another day).
So... what parallel can we draw from that to what we do in the technology space? Well, to me, it has a lot to do with the idea of a 'Second Line' parade. What is a Second Line? It is when a band, the grand marshal, and whoever they are honoring (whether a family for a Jazz funeral, a couple for a Wedding celebration, etc) form the 'first line' or the beginning part of the parade, and the 'second line' is full of all of the spectators actively joining with the band and parading behind them, dancing, strutting, and celebrating along with the music being played.
So, what can I take away from this that's relevant for my day-to-day?
In our industry, it is easy to get so caught-up in what we are doing, what is important to us, what new piece of technology is compelling and why 𝘸𝘦 think so, etc, etc, etc, that we forget that the only reason this stuff is important to begin with is to 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 - to make them a part of the process and help them to connect with the story we're telling, the solution we're selling, the thing for which we're trying to advocate. We want to try to make everyone 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔, not spectators.
As tech professionals, especially those of us in the 'Sales space,' we can't get 'caught with our head down in our music' and forget that, without an engaged audience, there is no performance at all.
So, this Mardi Gras, I'm going to really try to remember to not only try to find the celebration in every day, but more importantly, never forget that, without the second line, there IS no parade.
Let the good times roll!
Career Services Consultant
6dHi Melissa Glad you are doing well. Take good care. Lynn G Lieberman MEd