Back in 95 while I was working at MCI, my boss in order to reward our team for a successful quarter took the team to Annapolis MD for lunch. The idea of course was to leave the office early for lunch, spend the day with the team in Annapolis and then head home. In other words it was a day off disguised as a team lunch.
So on the day of the event I ride up with a buddy of mine, and as we walk through the doors another rep on the team announces our arrival to the entire restaurant/bar, and runs across the room to greet us in a “man hug”. Apparently this guy caught the early bus, because he was hammered, and it was only 12:15. He must have been there when they opened, and to be honest he showed no signs of slowing down, as our arrival apparently needed to be celebrated with a round of shots.
Not to be labeled a sprinter (starts out fast and fades) he continued this pace through lunch until my boss told the waitress that she was not to bring him any more alcohol. Remember this was at MCI in 95, meaning you have to be going pretty hard to have your boss cut you off. Well this guys was in no way going to let our boss stop the party train he was on, so when he wanted a drink, this rep would get up go to another room, order a drink and return.
By 2:00 it was so uncomfortable that everyone just wanted the event to end, so we all split up and went our separate ways……..or so I thought. Ends up “Party guy” thought it would be a good time to let a female co-worker know just how attracted he was to her, by initiating a make-out session in the streets of Annapolis. Ends up this girl didn’t share the same feelings that party guy had for her. What they did share was the same HR manager, who was brought up to speed on what had transpired before COB that day. Needless to say, our next team event had one less person in attendance, as “Party guy” was fired the next day.
Ever seen that? Ever seen someone implode their career in a second? How about their family or marriage? Have you ever seen someone do something that instantly changes the direction of their lives and the lives of those around them?
I bet we all have, because those are so easy to see. But what about the guy who over the course of years or decades lets his life disintegrate? I think those are harder to see, because they happen so gradually. So gradually in fact that perhaps we don’t even see it happening in our own lives.
It that’s true I bet God might weigh in on what could keep that from happening.
Come on out tomorrow as John Woodall presents “The Integrated Man”
D.R.