And by "after lunch", I mean "tomorrow". It's a good story, I promise.
Okay. Story time. Been meaning to do it all day. So @TINYpulse has an unlimited vacation policy, which I think can be a tricky thing, but has been socialized well here. We're encouraged to take time and take care.
I wasn't #onhere in October basically at all because I spent most of the month trekking and eating my through Chile and Argentina with my spouse.
The fulcrum of the trip was a 4-night, 5-day hike around the W in Torres del Paine. I recommend it. It's breathtaking. nationalgeographic.com/travel/destina…
Now, I am, to put it gently, not a backpacker. (My spouse is.) I was excited-nervous going in. We'd practiced, but I'd never spent two consecutive nights on the ground before.
And once you start the W, that's it. There's no search-and-rescue. You get in on your own, you get out on your own. I learned this at a really good talk at Erratic Rock, which I also recommend - they have a talk at 3 PM every day. erraticrock.com
Now, let me pause. We're in mid-October. About a month before, I'd attended the heck out of my first #TINYcon. @TINYpulse's third. We're trying to make it a must-attend for people who give a damn about the people who work where they do. ➡ tinycon.com
Cascade Designs sent multiple people to #TINYcon. You might not know the name Cascade Designs, but if you spend any time in the great outdoors, you likely know one of their brands:
@Thermarest
@platyhydration
@msrgear
@PackTowl
@SealLine
@Thermarest
@platyhydration
@msrgear
@PackTowl
@SealLine
^ This is, like, most of my in-laws' garage shelving. We were loaded down - well, not loaded down, everything Cascade Designs makes is shockingly light - with gear from Cascade Designs for the hike portion before we rented gear.
But when we did go to rent gear - we're back in Puerto Natales, Chile, now, we're time-traveling - there was this. A @Thermarest RidgeRest. It's a camping mattress. A classic. Even I recognize it. 
Getting any sort of mattress would have been a relief to me - I am not a well-cushioned person - but this one pretty much changed my mood.
See, at #TINYcon, I didn't get to kick it with as many customers as I would have liked. I had a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff to scurry to. But I got a ton of face time with Cascade Designs.
I heard about their aspirations and victories - how they use @TINYpulse, how they wanted to in the next year. The Wins they were planning on putting up.
Cascade makes their products in Seattle and Reno, and they really try to have a unified (and world-class) employee experience across both locations.
I think most of us prefer not to think about work on vacation if we can help it. I'd definitely been aiming for that. But this wasn't an intrusion. Holding that RidgeRest in my hand made me think about where I work; and that brought with it a wave of gratitude.
It was was energizing and validating and humbling to know that whoever was making a RidgeRest that day could have an impact on their career there by taking out their phone on break.
I knew a Cascade employee with a bright idea could send in an anonymous suggestion. Or if they were having a tough time, HR could know and offer support. Or they could congratulate a colleague on something as simple as a good shift. I could go on. @TINYpulse does a lot.
I don't think that made the RidgeRest any softer. It's a great product on its own. Here's me smiling in the tent after a day where 50kmph winds battered us around.
It matters when the people who make something I use are empowered at their jobs. It matters when the people in power at the organizations I work with listen to their employees and actually address their concerns.
People enjoying their work is important.
People enjoying their work is important.
One of the metrics we keep track of at @TINYpulse is "lives impacted". It's a really poetic way of doing business. Maybe it's a little fanciful.
But count my life among them. For me, it was a pleasure to think about where I work on vacation.
But count my life among them. For me, it was a pleasure to think about where I work on vacation.
(Also I was really kinda terrified about my hip hurting after nights on the ground - I'm a side-sleeper - and that didn't come to pass, so go get a RidgeRest and thank me later.)
fin 🧡
fin 🧡
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