by Kelly Passey – CEO, Plastic Specialties Inc
NACM Intermountain Board of Directors
I have worked for more than 45 years and in those years, I have met so many wonderful, amazing people. The one thing that fascinates me is that everyone has a story, and I want to know their story.
I feel that the more you know about the people you meet and work with, the better life will be.
I was on the subway in New York many, many years ago and I just remember looking around at all the people and wondering what each person’s story was. I was fascinated by wanting to ask them who they were, where did they come from, were they locals or travelers? I would have loved to sit down and get to know each and every one of them.
We are all so different, but yet, so alike in so many ways. We all have struggles; we have good times and bad times, yet we are all in this together.
And we have to remember that being different is good! That is what makes the world go around and what a great way to learn and grow from all different types of humans!
I say this because we will work and associate with many different types of people throughout our lives, and if we took the time to really get to know them, we could discover differences, and more than likely we would also find out what we have in common. This world is huge, but it is also very small.
My company’s motto: We build relationships, not just countertops.
I love this because it is true, and in my 45 years working, I have seen this play out.
We as humans need relationships, we need to learn from each other and grow as individuals. Everyone has something to offer to someone. We all have different talents and ideas and that is so wonderful, and we should talk about them and share them and appreciate them. We tend to be hard on ourselves and we should grant ourselves some grace for our mistakes and look at these as learning opportunities.
I appreciate each and every one of my relationships. Even the tough ones, because I have been able to learn something from those tough relationships and have definitely grown because of those challenging times.
Our paths in business will cross many other paths and I encourage each of us to take a minute and appreciate each other for who they are and what they have to offer and see what we can learn from each other.
Remember, everyone has a story and sometimes they just need someone to ask them or just say hi or even just offer a smile.
Most people enjoy talking a little bit about themselves, so please don’t hesitate to ask the next person you meet or the next customer. Just smile and say hi and you know what to do from there.
People appreciate kindness and gestures and acknowledgment. Life is busy, I know that but look what a difference we can all make!
I encourage all of us to step outside our boxes and circles and get to know those around you and who you work with and your customers and vendors and just take a little time to show some interest and I know it will all make us better and will make a difference.