A day of sadness, reflection & hope

Welcome to a very challenging edition of Leading with Empathy. Today, my family will lay to rest my beautiful Nana, Beryl Murray. I will share more below about this amazing woman and the incredible impact she had on me and everyone she met.

Thank you to those who have shared condolences, I deeply appreciate it.

Big leadership in a tiny package

At less than 5 feet tall, my Nana never towered over anyone. I don't think she ever raised her voice in anger or gave anyone the silent treatment. Her way of being was of such deep and pure kindness, that infectious kind of leadership, that just draws people to her.

If you are someone who believes that Heaven is a place we go to when we die, I envy you today. Because my beautiful Nana, Beryl Murray would surely be welcomed through the gates with a deserved warmth few in history could match.

Nana aka Beryl Bunny would probably have described herself as just an ordinary person, but as many know there was nothing ordinary about her. Nana was one of the kindest and most generous people on the planet and I've been lucky enough to meet a few now.?

Selfless - Nana would give you her last dollar if you asked and most of the time even if you didn't ask but you needed it.

Kind - I don't think she ever said a bad word about anyone. Always finding a kind word when everyone else saw red.?

Giving - Nana volunteered for her community until she couldn't anymore and never once saw it as anything but a privileged to serve her friends at the bowls club, tennis club, meals on wheels, and coast guard… she rang rings around the youngsters well into her 80s.

When her little community of Tin Can Bay heard she was sick, the response wasn't a vacant sigh or a faint concern. The local community immediately jumped to help her. The local Meals on Wheels had the construction of ramps installed in her house before we could even get a quote. "She is an angel from Heaven your Nana," the local President said to us. "She gave so much to us, an amazing woman."

But most of all, my Nana was magical! Know I know she was tiny, but when Adam and I would stay with Nana, it was as if there were two or three of her hiding around the house ready to pop out and care for us at any moment.

Every morning, we'd wake up and stumble our way to the kitchen as kids do to find a spread of milk, rice bubbles, coco pops, corn flakes and sultana bran lined up behind bowls ready for us to fill. Grandad would usually be in the shed or preparing the boat for a day of fishing. Nana would ask what we wanted to drink, to which I would reply milo and Adam malted milk… neither would take more than a few seconds to arrive before Nana seemed to dive back into the kitchen.

After we finished our cereal, we would stumble back to our bedroom to find the beds made… but how? Wasn't Nana in the kitchen the whole time? Upon getting dressed and returning to the kitchen our bowls were gone. We would find the table renewed this time with bacon, eggs, fish, toast, avocado, lemon pepper, and small Tupperware containers of all sorts of goodies. How did she do that and the beds? It was like she had mini-Nana ummpalummpas jumping out of cupboards when we weren't looking.

That magical lady would make everyone feel special. The last time I took Zoe up to stay, I found them in the spare bedroom, hiding under the sheets, giggling away with each other and playing a game. It was a sound I'll never forget. I didn't realise it at the time, but this would be the only time Zoe would experience that magic and I'm so glad she did.

If you believe in Heaven, you'll expect my Nana to be reunited with her beloved Doug. I can imagine the smiles on their faces. My heart is broken to say goodbye but full of joy to have had her in my life.?

Rest now Nana, we love you.

A gift to honour generosity

As you can probably tell, I learnt a lot about giving and charity from my dear Nana. She was so supportive of the work I have done with Hands Across the Water and before that the IAG Foundation. I found out only recently, that after my Grandfather passed from a long battle with cancer, Nana would run an annual fundraiser at the local bowls club to raise money for the local Palliative Care. She would then match whatever was donated with her own money.

To honour her memory, I want to gift 5 keynote sessions to my followers. If you would like to book one of these, please reach out below. You are welcome to make a donation and any donations made will be given to Hands Across the Water .

To apply for a free keynote apply here.

Recommended Thinking

One of the things I am often asked is about my favourite books, podcasts and other things that inspire my thinking. As some of you know, I love chewing through audiobooks and podcasts, so each newsletter will offer one of my favourites for you to consider.

This week it is the amazing book: Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman .

This is an older book now and many of you may have come across this, but it was first gifted to me by Grant Cairns and I will be ever grateful for this gift. It was a game changer for this mathematician who saw the world in logic and missed so much of the messy human stuff that this book uncovers. It won the author a Nobel prize in Economics, despite being a psychologist and really opened my eyes to the way in which we make decisions. If you haven't picked it up, please do.

Appearing at Mastering SAP

It is also with great pleasure I am opening the Mastering SAP conference on the Gold Coast in November. If you are part of the SAP community, this is a conference surely not to be missed.

I'll be speaking about Leading the Great Reconnection and the importance of leadership and collective commitment in a time of disconnection and apathy. I hope you can join me, grab your tickets here.

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Thanks again for checking in.

Daniel Murray - [email protected]