I Needed no Trappist or Spritzer…

Astronomers are celebrating a new discovery:

“The big news is that around a very nearby cold small star we found seven rocky, earth sized planets, all of which could potentially have liquid water.” -Sean Carey Manager, Spitzer Science Center Caltech/IPAC

“For me it’s mind blowing… I would never have predicted this. It is beyond anything I could have ever dreamt of.” -Nicole Lewis James, Webb Telescope Project Scientist, Space Telescope Science Institution

The planetary system is called Trappist-1 after the Belgian-operated telescope in Chile. Trappist found two planets in 2016, and Nasa’s spritzer space telescope with the help of ground base telescopes, discovered five more.

I marveled at this discovery, at the mysteries of the universe, planets and stars in particular, often recognized as the building blocks of galaxies. Not for long however, as my day job brought me back to earth. And as I looked around, I began to recognize the many stars that walk among us every day.

I paused to acknowledge that my work-life is studded with stars, my colleagues and team members at Investment Planning Counsel (IPC). “The basic building blocks from which companies are made” – those who often go above and beyond, the unseen ones, the lonely ones, the forgotten ones, and those who work tirelessly behind the scenes.

At IPC, new stars are constantly being discovered. We recently completed a major multi-year project fraught with obstacles, frustrations, setbacks and challenges. We saw stars that had ingenuity, talent and dedication. Their support and commitment to the success of IPC came shining through.

Not all of us own hi-tech star gazing gadgetry, but all of us can look for new stars. May we as leaders spot the stars in our midst. We found ours in Sana, Lauren, Adam, Wesley, Dan, Jigar, Rod, and Susan, among others.

And yes, I needed no Trappist or Spritzer. All I needed was my naked eye!