This post is about you–

and what you represent….

Last Sunday, I was out in California

to attend a “Celebration of Life” service

for the late, great Tommy Smothers.

For those of you who may be

unfamiliar with his name,

Tommy & his brother Dickie formed

the legendary comedy duo,

The Smothers Brothers.

(You can look them up on YouTube.)

I was fortunate enough to meet

Tommy & Dickie a few times:

in the green room of a TV station

during the HBO Comedy Festival;

in NYC at a hotel bar post-show;

and at a performing arts center

in Chautauqua, NY.

At this last location,

Tommy and I happened to return

to our hotel rooms at the same time,

ran into each other in the hall,

and were both locked out.

(The keys at this place were finicky and problematic!)

Tommy started getting silly and cracking me up.

I can’t think of another time

I laughed so hard

in the wee hours of a hotel hall.

Here’s what I remember most.

Each time I met The Smothers Brothers,

in spite of their worldwide fame,

they treated me as an equal.

They joked with me,

they were interested in my work,

they asked me questions and

were attentive, enthusiastic, and respectful.

They were as gracious as they were hilarious.

And as I listened last Sunday

to what people said from the stage

as they honored Tommy,

I was reminded of a question

I often ask those in my audience.

And it is this:

5, 10, and 20 years from now,

when your colleagues and team

members are in a new role

recalling their interactions with you,

what will they say…and what

would you want them to say?

In other words,

what values, traits and characteristics

do you embody and represent?

Risk Forward & Rock On,

P.S. As children, my sister and I would play The Smothers Brothers albums, listening again and again…and squealing with laughter. I’m quite sure Tommy & Dickie were a key spark in igniting my passion for the performing arts.

P.P.S. If you’ve never heard their bit called Chocolate, it was one of my sister’s and my favorites. Verrrry silly.