Unfortunately, saying thank you seems to be an after thought more and more. So at least once a month, I will take a few minutes to publicly appreciate someone that has had an impact on me.
This round: Arlo Belshee
At the Agile Alliance conference in 2010, I was sitting in a session and started chatting with a guy nearby. Don’t worry, we were not being rude…the exercise was to discuss with a person nearby. I had seen him around before as he was a little hard to miss with hair longer than mine (which is not a small feat) but our paths had just not crossed until now. By the end of that session, I can recall that the conversations were not the standard fundamental conversations. We were challenging each other in this fantastic way. I can’t remember the content but I remember thinking and feeling, this is someone that I want to keep connected with.
There will be endless people lining up to highlight the genius that is Arlo. I want to take time to appreciate the friend Arlo has become over the past five years. He challenges me to consider bigger opportunities; he helped me to realize that it was my responsibility to gain from sessions and that there is always something to learn if I look for it. He supports and coaches me to finding the right opportunities; he helped me narrow down what I really wanted to tackle next and why it was a fit. He always makes time for people – whether it’s whiskey nights or hallway conversations. He stays connected – we see each other once a year and yet I hear from him throughout the year with little updates or humorous work stories. He is a caring soul that I’m grateful to have in my life.
Thank you for being you!
Picture from Facebook
