Teamwork Even Relates to Pumpkins

Posted by Kristin Arnold on October 31, 2009

I had to laugh when I saw the headline, “Teamwork gets pumpkin into hotel.”  The writer, Tom Dalton, must have a sense of humor, too.  Evidently, a giant pumpkin arrived in the lobby of the Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, MA but it was too big to get in the front door. Dalton explains:

“The hotel used a pallet jack from the Peabody Essex Museum to transfer the pumpkin from a pickup truck to the hotel’s catering truck, which has a lift gate. It was lowered to a heavy cart with large wheels and rolled through the hotel’s side door.

While this went on, Lederhaus was standing on an island in Hawthorne Boulevard talking to the pumpkin crew.

“Do you want me to stop traffic?” she shouted.

Just as she spoke, she heard a voice behind her say, “I don’t think you have the authority to do that.”

Lederhaus spun around and saw a familiar face, Congressman John Tierney, who was in town for a public meeting.

The big pumpkin is part of a “family of pumpkins” on display in the hotel lobby.

While it was, indeed, a comical series of events to get the Great Pumpkin into the lobby, I have GOT to believe that Congressman Tierney was making a joke, too.  It’s not whether she has the “authority” to stop traffic – because traffic is going to stop by the very nature of the work being done.

Here’s where it ceases to become funny. I know there are people working in teams who feel they need to ask permission to facilitate the flow of traffic or make things easier for the team — in spite of the events of the day.  Why do you need permission?  As Nike says, “Just do it.”  Help out.  Don’t wait for someone to rain on your parade…or would that be your great pumpkin?

http://www.salemnews.com/punews/local_story_279001117.html?keyword=secondarystory

Question:  Do you wait for permission to facilitate the flow of traffic on your team?

To book Kristin to speak or view her products go to www.ExtraordinaryTeam.com

 
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