"Has anyone seen the Delaware?"
This Independence Day, I was at my parents' house on the Delaware River. Every year the neighbors put on a small parade using their personal cars with July 4th streamers or an ATV or tractor.
We then proceed to drive around the neighborhood slowly and wave at a small group of spectators.
This year, we shook things up. Mounting a canoe to a boat trailer, the kids and I reenacted George Washington's crossing of the Delaware a mere 200 feet from the river (although miles North of the actual crossing).
Not all that hard to create, and it was a certainly a crowd favorite.
Here's my big takeaway. With a little creativity and effort, any one of us can turn a normalized event into something more special and memorable.
For example, and learning this from a past boss, I occasionally bring root beer floats into a morning meeting to hand out. Not a ton of effort--certainly talked about afterwards.
The best leaders I know do three things:
1. Get the job done (a prerequisite to the other two)
2. Make it fun
3. Create memories
Sometimes it only takes a little extra effort to make something extraordinary!
