STAYING ABOVE THE LINE

Nov 6

If you're at all familiar with Ember, then you may have heard of the "GRACE AWARD" or this mystery figure named 'Grace'. She has been with us since day one, twelve and a half years ago. Actually, more like 13 years ago, when we were in a Barnes & Noble coffee shop writing our business plan.

Grace is our magician/therapist. She's sometimes a 2"x4". She's our figurative 'CEO' that keeps Kathy and Chris in line. Often, she's a ray of light in dark times, with a perspective that keeps Ember moving forward. She loves to make things uncomfortable. As she'll tell you: "In discomfort, is growth."

So why is Ember thriving in a time when many other hospitality/meeting-based organizations are struggling, closing doors, or fully furloughing teams?

The long answer includes lots of sacrifice and great work by the Ember team, our production partners, and more. The short answer is: GRACE.

Way back in March (time machine), it was Grace, who pushed the Ember leadership team to take three days off from work to attend an "Unlocking the Mind" Leadership Session. Just as the country was starting to lock down, five team members drove south. Those three days framed a "being" that transformed our mindset, and informed our response and action in the coming weeks.

It was also the bi-weekly Zoom calls with the Ember team and Grace, sharing insights from her other clients/leaders and leading the team through "above the line, below the line" check-ins and discussions. It was her counsel during the most difficult business decisions in May. It was hearing from her on the phone and being on the other side of her 'call-to-actions'. Pushing us to make the hard decisions, welcome the shift, and not to push back. Now that we are coming out the other side, we feel extremely grateful for being on the receiving end of those nudges.

So, we are still in a pandemic, the meetings/events industry is still in upheaval, and we are still trying to stay above-the-line. And we're blessed...because Ember has a bit of Grace to get us through.