Last Friday night a close friend and I went to see the latest Cirque du Soleil performance at Tyson’s Corner, Echo. Cirque’s appeal lies in amplifying the amazing and extreme talents of their performers. Each tent is created to support the specific show with catwalks, gears and technicians high above the audience. Behind the scenes, or above them, practiced operators are raising, lowering, and swinging the ropes the acrobats perform use to amaze and entertain.
At the end of this show I was pleased to see the technicians taking a bow, imbibing the wild applause of our audience sharing their appreciation for a show of wonder. When was the last time you thanked those behind the scenes at an event you enjoyed. Not the producer or director, but the staff who carried out the arduous details of making sure everything went as well as it possibly could, including recovering from mistakes and ensuring the safety of all involved?
This week I will look for opportunities to appreciate those whose efforts make possible the great results I experience.
“In the business world an executive knows something about everything, a technician knows everything about something and the switchboard operator knows everything.”
– Harold Coffin
