Las Vegas 9/11 Memorial
I’ve had a very nonlinear career path and in a different lifetime I worked in retail, grocery retail in fact (probably the worst kind of retail). I don’t in anyway mean to minimize the events of 9/11 but the two events taught me some very profound lessons about human nature that are directly applicable to social media and today seemed like an appropriate day to share.
When Y2K was approaching we were living in Phoenix, AZ. I had just helped open a new store and was waiting to be moved to the next location to open. All concerns about crashing computers aside, the real challenge we had to deal with was the panic and fear that people had as they stockpiled entire pallets of water and food.
The survivalist in everyone surfaced and many people were taking advantage of that fear. Y2K came and went and instead of relief, people were pissed. Why? They felt tricked and they felt stupid. Grocery stores have a way of bringing out the worst in people and I have seen the ugly side of humanity but what I saw post Y2K made me sad and sick at a whole new level.
People hate being deceived.
Contrast that with what I experienced during 9/11. By this point I was working for the same retailer but was now working in Las Vegas where I was helping convert the Lucky stores we had acquired over to Albertsons. I had just worked the closing shift the night before and after sleeping in, IÂ was looking forward to going for a bike ride out by the Red Rocks area just outside Las Vegas.
Jen came in and told me when the first plane hit the towers. At the time people thought it might be an accident. There had been a several small personal aircrafts that had crashed that year and in my daze, I attributed it to another accident.
Then Jen came in and told me a second plane had crashed into the other tower. I got up still not sure what to think of this and was still determined to go on my bike ride. I couldn’t bring myself to believe we were under attack. I grabbed my clothes and sat in front of the TV to get ready. As I sat down the first tower collapsed.
I didn’t get up off the couch until it was time for me to go to work again.
That night at work was a singular experience of human nature I’ll never forget. The store was calm. The store was full of shoppers, a little on the light side but still busy. And it was so quite. Everyone was stunned. We were all in a state of shock.
More shocking was how patient and compassionate everyone was. No one cared how long they waited in line. No one was screaming at checkers because their canned pasta didn’t ring up on sale. No one was stockpiling food and water. None of that mattered in the light of what was happening. What was really important in life became painfully clear.
New York New York, Las Vegas
That week I saw Las Vegas observe a moment of silence while every light on The Strip was turned off. (That was something.) Over the rest of the year fire fighters from all across the country created an impromptu memorial at the New York New York Casino. Below the Statue of Liberty fire fighter shirts from all across the country were placed along the fence. It continued all year long. Eventually they created a permanent memorial that’s still there today.
What I saw post 9/11 restored much of my faith in humanity.
Human’s are a funny creature. We can be grossly selfish and self serving, and by contrast can exhibit unimaginable levels of compassion and sacrifice. Each one of us posses as much potential for evil as we do for good. Placed in the right set of circumstances we choose which of those we wish to extol. However, the circumstances themselves lend themselves to certain outcomes.
As people working inside companies, if I could impart one lesson learned, it would be to help your employees, customers and partners by creating the kind of environment that encourages them to make decisions that make them, and all of us, better people.
