What's on my mind? Aristotle, autism and awards

"Excellence is never an accident, it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort and intelligent execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives. Choice, not chance determines your destiny." - Aristotle

This past week I had the privilege to host an amazing group of Colties representing the top 1% of our company. As the festivities kicked off in the beautiful city of Athens on the rooftop of the Hotel Bretagne with the Acropolis rising in the background, I was overwhelmed with a sense of global connection. Almost every continent was represented. We had winners from Japan, India, China, Singapore, USA, Spain, Romania, France, UK, Italy, Switzerland and Germany. We had moms, dads, sisters, brothers, sons, partners and friends.

All of them, inspiring us with their excellence in their area - tax, operations, desk based sales, legal, technology, service delivery, network operations, application support, customer relationship management, account teams, product teams, HR and facilities. Inspiring us by hearing the stories of how they are making Colt better. How they are embracing our values to help us find a better way, win together through collaboration, change the world and show how people matter by driving equity and inclusion for all - while meeting and exceeding our targets. They are global champions through the exact words of Aristotle - sincere effort, high intention and intelligent execution.

But what struck me the most was their choice during the event. They only had two full days to spend their 'Colt award time' and we gave them the option to use one of them to do community service. This was not mandatory, it was perfectly understandable to want to do something else after flying across the world, and yet the majority CHOSE to participate.

As we stepped off the buses at the school for autistic children, the kids and their guardians greeted us. Some gave out hugs and yelled with excitement, some a bit shy and looking down at the ground, but all had participated in creating a flower wreath to show their gratitude for what we were about to do.

We were escorted into the back of the school to a dirt field. It was full of trash, completely bare and if I am honest, quite ugly. The teams handed out the shovels, rakes, spades, paint rollers, and screwdrivers, and we got to work. Moving rock around the trees, planting veggies, flowers and herbs into the various beds, building benches, putting together raised vegetable beds, painting and cleaning the shed, and building shelves. Needless to say, it was back-breaking, leg bruising, arm bending work. As the sweat broke out the garden started to take shape, and after six hours we'd created a therapy garden for the kids that was simply beautiful.

At the awards ceremony that evening, amongst the black ties and ball gowns, there was a hint of paint in the hair, a bit of dirt under the nails, and a bruise that we didn't realise happened. And most of all, a huge sense of care and giving. The red carpet came out, the trophies provided, but the reward that day was much deeper than simply the hardware our winners were taking home.

I've never been at a company that included a community service activity during their President's Club/Annual Awards event. I have never been at a company that lives so close to its values. I have never been at a company that makes the CHOICE to CARE like Colt does.

Aristotle was correct, excellence IS a CHOICE. It IS what determines your destiny. It absolutely is the intention, intelligent execution and most importantly, sincere effort that makes all the difference.

I love our global community. I love that Colt cares, and I am so #ProudToBeAColtie!

Thank you, Coltie Award winners, for inspiring me this week as you continually inspire other Colties, our customers and partners.

Enjoyed reading “What’s on my mind?”? Now you can watch it! I recently hosted my first LinkedIn Live with Robert Swan, the first person to walk to the North and South Poles. We spoke about falling up, when to ask for help and knowing when to stop. If you missed it, you can watch it here.