Is That It?

We took "the picture" today. This is the picture with the CEO, presidents, managers, engineers, 50 person assembly line, and people who I'm not sure how they contributed to the program that happens at the end of the program with the first customer products. Don't worry, I was in the front row. 

After it was over and we ate lunch, I felt empty. I felt that let down after finishing something, even though we are far from finished. I have worked on this project the last four years, probably 85% of my total time at this company the last four years. This is "the picture" that will hang on the wall the next 15+ years and new people will look for familiar faces and only recognize a few. As I stood there, noticeably absent, in my mind, were several people that played a critical role over the last four years. This picture which I always thought would represent the team that made this happen, and the people that would keep it happening, in my mind did not represent those contributions well. Sure, many, probably most, of the key people were there, but certainly not everyone. 

I realized, once again, it's about the people, the relationships, and this slice of time and place represented on the photo doesn't begin to tell the story of the journey of the last four years. For that, you had to live through it.