I returned home from a nice relaxing week-long vacation a couple of Thursdays ago to find that I had fallen victim to an office prank. I’m not talking anything malicious, just a simple door wrapping as a “welcome home”. After the airport shuttle dropped me off outside our Headquarters building I did a quick office pop-in to let my Team know I had returned from Southeast Asia alive and well. I noticed that my door had been plastered with expired aeronautical charts. Ha! I thought somebody had gotten me good. Without actually opening my office door I chuckled and said I’d clean it up when I returned to work on Monday. After spending nearly 25 hours on airplanes I was ready to go home!
Monday morning rolled around and I realized that this seemingly simple prank required more than a little light cleaning duty. I flicked on the light and was nearly blinded by the reflection from the white paper aeronautical charts that plastered the entire inside of my office. The walls, bookcase, credenza, chair, phone, computer monitor, printer, nearly everything had been covered in charts! Some may have been upset, but I was all smiles as I cleared a patch on my desk and unwrapped my monitor and keyboard so I could start my day. Was I going to clean it up quickly? No way! Looking back, it seems silly to have heard myself saying, “Look, my team cares so much about me they trashed my office!” Although it was a huge mess to clean up (thanks for the help Judy!), it’s great to know that my Team cared enough about me to give me a proper homecoming. You see, not only did they take the time to literally wrap my office in charts, they were “thoughtful” enough to key in on the fact that I always clean my office before going on vacation, knowing how I like to return to a clean desk. So here’s a big "thank you" to my team for really making me feel LUVed; however, beware … I know your vacation schedules, too!
A closing note to my friends on the Southwest Airlines Green Team: Yes, all of the paper went in the blue recycle bins!
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