Created with Sketch.
The Austin Company
  • Contact Us
  • Austin Consulting
  • Spanish
  • Why Austin
    • Leadership Team
    • Austin Past and Present
    • Safety
    • Results, Not Excuses
    • Project Gallery
  • Markets
    • Aerospace and Defense
    • Food and Beverage
    • Pharmaceutical and Biotech
    • Automotive
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Process Industries
    • Utility Plant Support
    • Commercial
  • Services
    • Design and Engineering
    • Construction
    • Facility Maintenance
    • Location Consulting
    • Planning
    • Development and Financing
  • Subcontractors
  • Careers
  • News & Blog
  • Why Austin
    • Leadership
    • Austin Past and Present
    • Safety
    • Results, Not Excuses
    • Project Gallery
  • Markets
    • Aerospace and Defense
    • Food and Beverage
    • Pharmaceutical and Biotech
    • Automotive
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Process Industries
    • Utility Plant Support
    • Commercial
  • Services
    • Design and Engineering
    • Construction
    • Facility Maintenance
    • Location Consulting
    • Planning
    • Development and Financing
  • Subcontractors
  • Careers
  • News & Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Austin Consulting
Home > Thanksgiving … Giving Light and Hope to Others
NEWS & BLOG

November 19, 2015 posted in Organizational Values, Personal Development

Thanksgiving … Giving Light and Hope to Others

Headshot of Michael G Pierce

Mike Pierce

President and CEO

Call 440.544.2607 Email Mike View Profile

Please bear with me a bit, this one’s personal.

A couple that I know – a great couple – fun, bright, attractive and successful when I knew them in my younger years, before I moved away, recently experienced a tragedy. It made me think long and hard about Thanksgiving. Its meaning. Its essence of our culture and mindset and how we look at life in the USA.

I didn’t know, but my friends who were so dynamic and endearing before, who had a reputation for helping people out – often anonymously, because it was the right thing to do – fell on difficult times. They had health problems, employment challenges, were cheated in big business deals, and had children with disabilities. Yet, they persevered.

They always worked to help people, take care of their children, and kept working at it …
… until it became too much for the wife and she ended her life.

It is a shock, a sad life experience, and one that leads one to examine the basis for what keeps us going. To imagine her in this position, especially from afar as I was, is unthinkable. And there is my life lesson that I hope to share herein.

In our daily course of work or social life, we encounter people all the time, at different phases of their life, with different daily experiences. Do our reactions to their behavior take into account the framework of their current life experience? Do we “seek first to understand, then to be understood”?

This is hard work, very difficult and challenging. It requires the ultimate in character, leadership and judgment. It requires love, love of people with whom we are not well acquainted. And it can often be in direct contrast to business interests. As I said, this is hard work and work that demands special attention and dedication.

I believe that a “correct response to an employee in distress” is almost an oxymoron, as a key component of the distress is the challenge that the employee has with talking about or sharing their distress. It is hard work that requires specialized expertise that we should never not access. This is something I do not have an answer for.

So what is my point in all of this?

Next week is Thanksgiving, and the connection between this tragedy and the spirit of this holiday is striking. Everyone has various problems in their life and those problems are either apparent, or totally hidden. The problem is that those whose problems are hidden have a distinct problem – everyone thinks everything is okay … Is it?

My takeaway – we all have problems and disappointments – some have greater ones. Perhaps they are not great in general, but for whatever reason, they lack the ability to deal with it, making it greater. So do not underestimate what is driving someone, but search for it.

Finally, if you are part of the fortunate majority who have the capacity for dealing with the problems life brings you, be thankful. Hug your loved ones. Pray for those less fortunate. And do something to move humanity a bit further along. We’re blessed for the most part.
More than most of us will ever realize.

MD RIP – thanks for the light you shone.

“Behind every exquisite thing that existed, there was something tragic.”

Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

“To give thanks in solitude is enough. Thanksgiving has wings and goes where it must go. Your prayer knows much more about it than you do.”

Victor Hugo

“The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Looking for an expert?

To connect with one of our knowledgeable team members for a media opportunity, please contact Leslie Panfil via phone or email. We look forward to sharing our expertise!

440.544.2255 | info@theaustin.com

MORE NEWS FROM THE AUSTIN

The Heart of the Matter

March 13, 2023 by Sean Barr, PMP

Winter Construction Safety Guide

March 9, 2023 by Charlie Engel

Two Books and a Podcast that Inspires Service, Leadership, and Purpose.

March 8, 2023 by Mike Pierce
Austin®
Transparency in Coverage Privacy Policy Employee Resources
  • Connect with The Austin Company on LinkedIn
  • Follow The Austin Company on Facebook
  • Follow The Austin Company on Twitter
  • Subscribe to The Austin Company's YouTube Channel
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Manage Cookie Consent


This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to collect information about how you interact with our website and allow us to remember you. We use this information in order to improve and customize your browsing experience and for analytics and metrics about our visitors both on this website and other media. To find out more about the cookies we use, see our Privacy Policy.

If you decline, your information won’t be tracked when you visit this website. A single cookie will be used in your browser to remember your preference not to be tracked.


We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “ACCEPT”, you consent to the use of all cookies. For more information, please visit our Privacy Policy.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}