Krug: The time to slow down, give thanks and update LinkedIn

It’s the week of Thanksgiving, and I couldn’t be happier. By midday Thursday, I will be up to my elbows in turkey, a spread of delicacies that merit thoughtful consideration for consumption but won’t make the plate, and gravy. Oh, how I do love gravy. Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday. As a matter of distinction, please let me begin with an apology to other holidays – and all other celebrations in general. You are simply overmatched. Anything that honors deep reflection, turkey-induced lethargy, and football is sheer marketing genius and virtually impenetrable by futile attempts upon my spirit or attention span. The office is closed. Time ticks by a little bit slower. Big screens are brimming with parades, three NFL games, a smattering of college football action, at least one hockey game, replays of parades and a dog show. In between, we fill the space with another beer, the debate over who had the better first-grade hand-traced turkey rendering and lay out the mechanics to determine who gets to lay the next log on the fire and why. Thanksgiving is a day to spend in the hearth of home, surrounded by friends and family, awash in the aroma of an oven that is pushing out smells the way a calliope presses out sounds. My most sincere hope is that is precisely where you will find yourself on that day. If not, call, and we’ll set an extra place at our table for you. All holidays offer an opportunity for pause and contemplation. But this holiday was created solely for the purpose. How great is that? Unless you work for one of the retailers that felt the need to trample the holiday (and for you to trample your neighbor) with 60-plus hours of Black Friday sales, the day is yours. If running amok to save another 15 percent on a TV, tablet or toaster is your thing, rage on. That kind of misguided nonsense also falls into the quintessential American column. So I guess we could resolve that our societal sensibilities are intertwined there somehow. And, as an American, I salute your Americanness, although I respectfully disagree with your method of demonstration. The First Amendment never gets old. For the rest of us, Thanksgiving offers an opportunity to pause from our work and to reflect upon who we are, what we have gained or lost and what we have contributed to those around us. All we have to do is take that opportunity to slow down and just think. But what shall you think about? No good reason to put parameters on it. For example: Why does hard cider taste so good on this day? I do not know. It simply does, and that’s OK. Why does it not taste any good on any other day? Again, I do not know. It simply tastes like tart, fizzy water. It just does. You have time to think about that on Thanksgiving. There’s really no end to what you can process over a few drinks and drumsticks. I don’t typically schedule daydreams or reflections, but I suspect that I will expand the scope of my thinking on this Thanksgiving to reach beyond the trivial. At least that will be my aim. And after the final plate is scraped, I may even send out a few endorsements and update my LinkedIn profile to ensure that my public persona is appropriately square with my level of thanks. I am truly thankful. My life is full of wonderful people at home. All of them are healthy and happy. They fill my days with laughter and empty my bank account with their dreams, interests and ambitions – just as it should be. I am truly thankful. Our workplace is full of motivated, driven people who truly care about what they do and focus on growing while learning new ways to deliver results. They are like family in the deepest sense of the word. Our clients are more like an extension of our family, spread out around the world. I am truly thankful. Days come and days go, but I believe Thanksgiving has a certain magic attached to it. We are no more thankful than we might be the other 364 days a year, but our awareness of that grace is perhaps a little closer to us. I look forward to Thursday.

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Incidentally, I did wake up from sedation last week. And I am content with my decision not to operate on myself. So please excuse my all-over-the-boardishness. It’ll pass. But, for real, modern medicine is pretty cool. So put me down as thankful for that, too.

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As always, stay classy. Chris Krug is president of No Limit Agency*, the progressive media communications firm in Chicago. No Limit is a full-service agency whose practice focuses on strategy, brand management, creative campaigns and delivering unparalleled placement in the media. No Limit Agency works with more than 50 of the best-known brands in North America, and that’s not by coincidence. Contact Krug by calling 312-526-3996 or via email at [email protected].