In past postings, I’ve mentioned Randy Paugh, the Carnegie-Mellon professor dying of pancreatic cancer and the phenomenon of his last lecture. I was intrigued recently when I received an email from a friend who said this:

"My manager showed this video to our group recently as our reward for meeting a milestone…His lecture is not on death, cancer, or dying. It is about living, overcoming obstacles, achieving your childhood dreams."

Progress comes in unexpected ways. When I was on engineering project teams, we used to receive coffee mugs or t-shirts when we reached a milestone like releasing a new software product. Wisdom for your life stays with people long after the t-shirt has faded and become another household rag.

I’m heartened that one of my passions, bringing the human spirit into the workplace, is alive and well, with this gesture from a manager. And it also makes me wonder how the human spirit can be recognized and/or made visible, without the excuse of meeting a deadline or milestone.