The Day After

I skipped my morning run. With the recovery efforts still underway, there is just too much to do in a 24 hour day. Even with our hot site up and running plus agreements with several major retailers, I have dedicated the early parts of the day seeking contract manufacturers capable of picking up the small gap that remains. Even though the "Santa Claus" and "North Pole" brands open some doors in these type of negotiations, there are still some real constraints associated with ramping up additional volumes on such short notice. After a series of calls to various manufacturing CEO, I walked across the village to the Production Facility. The smoke was still heavy in the air almost 36 hours later but as I crossed the Village Square and entered the facility, it appeared business was going on as usual. I toured the damaged area and was given a brief on the repair efforts before sitting down to breakfast with the workers that were there when the fire broke out. Mrs. Claus had decided it would be nice to host them to a big breakfast and give thanks for their saftey.

There was a big spread set out in the middle of the staging area. The first shift buzzed by carrying raw materials on forklifts and the PA blared various announcements and instructions. The third shift - the very same workers that had evacuated this same facility in a haze of smoke and heat a few hours earlier - ambled into the area as their shift ended. Every single one had come back to work even though they were told they could take the entire week off given the trauma of the prior evenings events. Not a single one wanted to risk a child not receiving their gift. We had pancakes, eggs, bacon, oatmeal, muffins, fresh fruit... you name it, we probably had it available. As much as I enjoy good food though, I really enjoyed having a chance to hug each one and thank them for their commitment to the kids.

By the time I was done at the breakfast, Jingle was reminding me that I was already 22 minutes behind schedule. Other than maybe a few heads of state, I have a hard time believing other executives schedules are managed by other people to the minute like mine is. Jingle and I discussed the slate of requests for cable news show interviews as we semi-jogged toward the Flight Operations Center. Then it was off to a day full of appearances. We agreed Jingle would call my mobile later in the day to finish the discussion on the cable news shows. As we lifted off, I could hear him yelling "Alright... only 18 minutes behind now!"

By lunch, I had caught back up on schedule. It's not easy to stay on schedule. We really try to avoid it but every so often I have to leave a mall while there is still a line for photos. That really bothers me and fortunately it doesn't happen often. And when it does, you can be assured it is urgent.

It was almost 9:30pm by the time I touched back down. Mrs. Claus was already at the Flight Operations Center when I landed. We walked hand-in-hand across the village, enjoying the crisp, cold night air... I particurlarly noticed the smoke had cleared since the morning. I could smell the faintest hint of gingerbread cookies wafting from the Village homes and the fresh pine scent from the wreathes and garland strung throughout town. Mrs. Claus and I made our way to the first of three fire houses. We stopped in each one to deliver Christmas candy and personally say Thank You to the fire fighters for saving Christmas. It won't stop there in terms of showing our appreciation as we have some other things planned but it certainly starts with a simple "Thank You".

Jingle's official schedule for my day ended at 11:30pm. It was 11:31 when we left the last firehouse. I headed back home and wrote this update to my blog. I still have a few emails to read and respond to before I can go to bed, but, it was a good day.