"Authenticity"... the 2023 word of the year!

The following clip from the BBC hit my feed earlier today, and now more that ever it seems VERY appropriate…

 

Merriam-Webster has picked its word of the year - and it's legit. 

"Authentic" is the top word of 2023, according to America's oldest dictionary.

Merriam-Webster said it saw a "substantial increase" in online searches for it this year. 

The interest was "driven by stories and conversations about AI [artificial intelligence], celebrity culture, identity, and social media", the dictionary publisher said. 

One reason many people search for the word is because it has a number of meanings, including "not false or imitation" and also "true to one's own personality, spirit, or character". 

"Although clearly a desirable quality, 'authentic' is hard to define and subject to debate," Merriam-Webster said. 

The publisher added that the popularity of the word, which had been highly searched in the US in the past, grew this year as "the line between 'real' and 'fake'" became increasingly blurred.

 

“Authenticity” is a concept or actually a principle that I have focused on numerous times across the 250+ essays that I have posted on-line.  I have always considered “Authenticity” a foundational principal for leaders, and my experiences in 2009 around the passing of my first boss, Bruce Paynter, provide vivid memories that I reflect on often today.  After battling ALS for months, he was nearing his passing, and I had the chance/honor to spend a few days with him at a hospice center.  Across that time together, we had three deep profound conversations, one centering around this idea of “Authenticity.”  He deeply felt that “Authenticity” was the foundation for leadership, and successful, effective leaders.  We talked for hours about this idea, comparing notes on business leaders we both knew, and talked about what made some effective and others ineffective and we kept coming around to this concept… “Authentic” leaders were effective and impactful leaders…. period.

 

Bruce had me draw a grid… his “grid of authenticity” … that had “Words” and “Actions” identified on each axis, and “+” and “-“ symbols at the ends of each axis.  In his mind… his definition…an “authentic” leader needed to ensure that their “Words” and “Actions” we aligned.  He had be draw a line from top right (positive “words” and “actions”) to the bottom left of the grid (negative “words” and “actions”) and he called this his “rail of authenticity.”  Effective leaders operated as close to the “rail” as possible, working to have their “words” and “actions” as aligned as possible.

 

As I sit here, writing this essay 14+ years later, I still remember that time in the hospice center and those powerful conversations.  In reflection, I think back on the discussion highlighted above and am deeply moved and strengthened by the TRUTH that Bruce’s “rail” is deeply true and has been a model that I have tried to embody in my personal and professional lives.  Let Merriam-Webtser’s “top word of 2023” be a driver for you… and a reminder that we all need to focus on our “words” and our “actions and find ways to come closer to “Bruce’s rail!”

p.s.  here is the link to the original essay that I wrote just a few days after that fateful "authentic" conversation back in 2009... take a look.  https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2009/06/authenticity-foundation-of-leadership.html

p.p.s. the pic above is from a flipchart in my office ... the product of a recent conversation with a young leader on our team ... the "legacy of Bruce" still active in Bakersfield in 2023!

 

Always start with gratitude

 I want to take a moment this week to comment on the idea and practice of trying to "Always start with gratitude."  Over the past few quarters, we have had a tough run in our business.  Challenges and headwinds were experienced on many fronts and the team broadly has been working extremely hard in very tough circumstances to problem solve and overcome many issues across the board; and in that context,  last Friday we reported our FY' 24 Q1 results and they were extraordinary!!  

I was so thrilled to see strong top-line performance and superior bottom-line results... literally one of the best quarters I have ever been part of at Bolthouse Farms and possibly one of the best across my entire career....  the team totally rocked!!  In the after-glow of our Flash report zoom call, I was reminded about the headline of this essay.... that in this moment or financial "over-delivery," I needed to find ways to BE GRATEFUL and share that gratefulness to my organization as broadly as I can!  As tempted as I was to dig into different departmental performance, and dive deeply into specific p&l drivers,  I needed to check myself and just start saying "thank you" as broadly and as often as possible.... I needed to "start with gratitude!"

As I endeavor down that gratitude path this week, I pulled up an essay that I posted three years ago this week.... November of 2020,  in the heart of the Covid crisis.  The following essay, which is actually a letter that I sent to our company at that moment,  is a great reminder to me about what we all have been through and how we all need to "start with gratitude" whenever we can... I hope this essay connects for you and I wish all of you a very "grateful" Thanksgiving holiday next week!  

November 24, 2020

I just wanted to send out a note before the Thanksgiving holiday this week.  This year is unlike all others for me ( and I think for all of us) as we head toward this day of thanksgiving….. this year has been so hard, so challenging, so painful, and so long, that I for one am having a hard time being very thankful; it’s in that spirit, not in some “hallmark card” moment, but in the midst of all of our challenges and pain that  I share these thoughts and reflections.  

 

Maybe 10-15 years ago I had the chance to see The Dalai Lama live at Canon chapel  on the campus of Emory University.  The setting matters since it was where Jennie and I were married ( by her Father,) where both Bryson and Marie were baptized and where we attended the funerals for both Jennie’s mom and sister… certainly a sacred space for our family!  It was there that the Dalai Lama, with a number of monks, held a “service” of sorts that included all sorts of Tibetan Buddhist rituals and comments from The Dalai Lama.   While I was struck by how “cheery and jovial” he was ( often chuckling/laughing) one comment he shared has stuck with me over the years…. that being to “always start with gratitude.” 

 He encouraged the crowd to 

 

·     “start every day…” 

·     “start every meal…”

·     “start every conversation…”

·     “start every walk…”

·     etc.

o  “with gratitude.”

 

I think back to that moment, so many years ago and find strength and inspiration thinking about this note today.  In the midst of rising covid cases and so many challenges facing our world, I am very thankful for my family, my sweet Jennie and our two wonderful kids, Bryson and Marie.  I am thankful to have the chance to work at Bolthouse Farms, and to work in a business that is trying hard to find ways to get more fruits and vegetables (go carrots!!) on family’s tables, and to work with a team of hardworking “Bolthouse People” that care so much and are so committed to our mission.  I am thankful to be healthy and capable to find ways to try to make tomorrow a bit better than yesterday…. and the list literally could go on for paragraphs….. I am actually thankful for so much!!

 

I wish all of you a very happy, healthy, safe and “grateful” thanksgiving holiday and I do sincerely hope that you can enjoy some well deserved time off this week with your family and friends as safely as possible!