Unfortunately, saying thank you seems to be an afterthought 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: Adam Weisbart
I met Adam many years ago as a speaker on a track that I was running for an Agile Alliance conference. He opened with a slide that had “Stop. Collaborate. And Listen.” in huge letters. His opening line…”Even Vanilla Ice was Agile”. I laughed. Maybe a little too hard.
I could make an entire post about his delivery style and how it speaks to my soul. Yet, I’m going to focus this appreciation on a completely different aspect of our interactions. Last year, I made the decision to go solo. For people that personally know me, this was an odd choice as I LOVE working with people. But I haven’t really felt alone and Adam played a role in this – not one that I think he even knew about.
Adam contacted me sometime shortly after the pandemic lockdown began. He inquired about doing a virtual conference. That this was on his list but now was going to be moving up. He asked me to speak, he included me in helping to build the program, he collaborated/discussed how to approach some things, etc. The event was incredible. I honestly was a little sad that I wouldn’t be interacting as much with Adam. Oh but Adam had other plans. Sure, he needed a significant rest after that event but before long, the calls started back up…exploring bite-size conferences, livestreams, founders sessions, etc.
With every interaction, there is learning, ideas, and laughter. We get work done and we check in how we both are doing. We may not work for the same company, but he’s made me feel like I have collaborative teammates still today. I am so beyond appreciative and honored to be a part of the Agile Virtual Summit journey but more importantly to have built an even stronger relationship with Adam over the past year.
Thank you. You helped keep this lady sane during this past year!
Tricia
Photo from LinkedIn
