The
Good Old Days By Kevin Rutherford
The TV show The Office has become one of the most iconic comedic shows of all time. The attachment the audience has with the cast and the feeling of escape we get through the endless, clever humor offers a sense of comfort by seeing a part of ourselves in their shoes. I have a fondness for many episodes, yet there is one moment that stands out for me because of its life lesson. Yes, you heard that right, a life lesson from The Office. It took place in the final episode when Andy Bernard, played by Ed Helms, looked at the camera and said: “I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them.” I would be remiss if I didn’t say the next line was the perfect humor at that moment when Andy, also a singer, said “someone should write a song about that.” The past 15 months have been extremely wearing on the running industry, on all of you, and I realize this observation is a bit of an understatement. During these times, I have searched deep to find and connect with a vision for a better future for
our industry and humanity. Through this process, I found that I have developed more hope and conviction about what we are recreating. At this moment in time we are connecting, strategizing and creating our future with a fresh start. There are few times in history where this has happened on this scale. The only example that I can think of is the generation that built the roaring 20’s coming out of World War I while also overcoming the Spanish Flu pandemic. Like the generation then, we will look back at this time and connect the dots in our life journey to discover that 2021 will very likely be ‘the good old days.’ As leaders, here are five reasons why we should not only have hope, but why we should use it to create the new world we want:
Hope that preventative health is the new way. How might we (HMW) leverage the surge in connected fitness and the quantified athlete, both of which are reinventing the way we are exercising. The consumer is here, let’s meet them where they are.
