There seems to be a constant stream of articles and news stories regarding the current workforce and their sense of entitlement. Rather than appreciating the opportunity to have a job, like our parents and grandparents did, it is said that employees today act as if it is their right to have virtually unlimited choices when it comes to their jobs and the amenities of those jobs. Now in a way this makes sense since they are children of the baby boom, a time of unprecedented prosperity and hope in our country. We all get accustomed to the fact that a search on Google is free and that we enjoy an unlimited amount of information at our fingertips. We can interact with Facebook for free and as an NISC employee our paychecks have magically appeared in our bank account without fail for the last 50 years. There has never been a time when our employees have not been covered by a comprehensive medical plan and there is comfort in watching our retirement plans grow. Today I find myself in the fourth quarter of my career. I think about these blessings often and feel a profound sense of gratitude. But let's be honest, I can't say that I felt that sense of gratitude when I was in my 20s or 30s or 40s or embarrassingly even in my 50s. But today I do so in a very profound way. I think it's unfair to characterize our workforce, the young ones in the workforce, as entitled. Rather I believe that as we make our way through the circle of life we seem to move from a mentality of entitlement to one of being grateful. Recently, as a vice president group, we have talked a lot about the balance of building a culture here at NISC that creates a challenging, fast paced, learning environment that is stable and sustainable, filled with opportunities for our employees. But we have to balance that view with the responsibility that we have to serve our members. The challenge is to balance those sometimes conflicted goals between the employees and the members. The question is this "is NISC in business to serve our employees or are we in business to serve our members?". The answer is yes, we're in business both serve our employees and our members. Now over the last couple of years, I've read some interesting books on topics about this. Titles like "The Customer Comes Second" by Hal Rosenbluth and "Employees First" by Vineet Nayar. The premise of these two books is that you should focus, as an employer, you should focus on the employees, and if you take care of them, they will take care of the customer. Now while that concept listens good, I think everyone who believes that taking care of our members is not our primary focus, is tragically wrong. It goes like this if we take care of our members if we do an exceptional job our business will grow and that business will generate the resources required to take care of our employees. Not the other way around. While the compensation package that NISC provides is very important to all of us, as employees, one of the great things about working here at NISC is the relationships that we have built over the years, and we do not take those relationships for granted. This is not just our co-workers, they are our dear friends, and when they go through challenges and struggles in their life well then we share that pain and we always have their backs. I would say regarding our members we are not just a vendor and they are not just our members rather they're our friends, and we have this sense that we are in this together and that this is so much more than a job it is a dedication to a cause of delivering technology to rural America. I'm not sure why but in the recent months there seems to be a rash of current and retired co-workers and members who are truly dealing with devastating health challenges and when I see their pain, and I hear their stories I find my perspective on life and my priorities changed in a profound way. I feel my attitude moving from entitlement to gratitude. As I think about my daily challenges problems and frustration I would classify many of them as first world problems and this is what I mean, My cell phone battery is running too low too quickly, The lines are too long in security at the airport, My flight is delayed ten minutes, they don't have the right cut of meat at the supermarket that I wanted for our weekend grill out, I'm delayed in traffic, The Internet connectivity is not as fast as I would like, and my GPS has recalculated just one too many times. Those are all first world problems. I have a good friend and mentor who once said to me when you're healthy you have 100 problems, and many of those are these first world problems, but when you're not healthy when you're fighting for your life, you have only one problem. And if you, or someone close to you, is having health issues you know exactly what I mean. Without your health, these first world problems seem small and insignificant. So this morning, I decided that the battery life on my cell phone, the Internet connectivity, lines, traffic, or the grocery store, my paycheck, my health insurance, these are not entitlements. Rather they are indications of the blessings in my life. First and foremost, I am grateful for my health and the relationships that I have with my fellow employees and the members that we serve. Everything else is a minor inconvenience. One of my favorite authors of all times is Charles Krauthammer, a wicked smart political commentator, and author. While in his first year of studying medicine at Harvard Medical School, Krauthammer became permanently paralyzed from the waist down after a diving accident. Now some say how terrible, how cruel, how unfair that such a smart and promising young man within entitled Life would be dealt such an unfair hand. But rather than feel sorry for himself Charles, during his life, was determined never to let his disability be a hindrance or something that garnered sympathy. He went on to become a Pulitzer Prize winner and in my humble opinion one of the most influential authors and political pundits of our time, and it was his sense of gratitude, rather than entitlement, that endeared him to a nation of admirers. In June of 2018 at the young age of 68, it's interesting that what I consider Young has increased dramatically over the years, but anyway at age 68 Charles's life came to an end after a battle with cancer. When you look at his life, you could say that he had reason to be bitter or feel sorry for himself, but it really was the contrary. Weeks before his death he penned the following letter. "I leave this life with no regrets. It was a wonderful life full and complete with great loves and great endeavors that made it worth living. Yes, I am sad to leave, but I leave with the knowledge that I have lived the life that I intended - Charles Krauthammer". I wonder if all of us would be able to write a letter like that at the end of our lives. Thank you, Charles, for your wisdom and inspiration. Thanks for teaching us that entitlement should have no place in our lives, rather we should be filled up, to overflowing, with gratitude for our jobs, and our lives, and our families, and our friends, and the opportunity to serve our members in each other and build relationships that will endure the challenges that the circle of life may bring our way. Thanks for listening. I appreciate you,. Vern
