Blessed are You, Adonai our God, God of our fathers and mothers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, God of Sarah, God of Rebecca, God of Rachel, and God of Leah.
So goes the start of the Avot v’Imahot section of the Amidah. After nearly a decade working for Spark Networks, JDate’s parent company, people regularly describe me as a CEO in the relationships business. I agree. But, not necessarily in the way they think. Creating families and building communities are inspiring missions and make my past decade’s work very rewarding. What gets me up in the morning and excited to come to work, though, is the amazing team of people with whom I work.
When I reflect upon my career – whether at a law firm, a telecommunications company, or JDate – one thing that I have learned is that it is relationships that really matter. People make companies. More than what kind of work you do, who you do it with has more of an impact upon your happiness at work. It’s the people you work with and your relationships with them that make all the difference. So, whenever I am sitting in temple listening to a cantor start to chant the Avot v’Imahot, I notice the names of people. Like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, I think of how lucky I am to have worked with my own incredible teammates like Josh, Brett, Arielle, Greg, James, Rachel, David and many others. Most people spend more time with co-workers than anyone else other than family (some, even more with co-workers than family). So, whenever young people embarking upon the start of their careers ask me for advice, I tell them to focus on the people with whom they will be working.
Because, whether your job is to build communities or widgets, whether you are the CEO or just starting out, we are all in the relationship business.
