A good friend of mine retired from Aliant today. For as long as I can remember, without fail, every Friday Tod would walk from desk to desk, offering Timbits to everyone in the office. As we were reminiscing about his career, I asked him about this weekly habit of bringing Timbits to work. Tod Shared the following:
“About 20 years ago, I got my own staff. You may not know this, but I am naturally very shy and introverted, so spent most days alone in my office. Finally, I decided I had to get up the courage to go talk to the group. I bought a box of Timbits as a prop and it was a great ice breaker. For some reason, with the box in front of me, I was no longer shy. Instead, I had a conversation starter. Each conversation eventually moved to what they were working on, if there were any issues, and how they were doing personally, so I at last, got to know the staff.
This plan worked so well, that the following week, I decided to do the same, and thus the tradition began. Pretty soon, other employees saw me in the elevator and asked about the Timbits – they were a big hit. Over the years, if I needed to see a decision maker or an executive, I had Timbits in hand… it opened many doors and started many conversations. It also let me get to know people on a personal level. With the Timbits, I could check in and make sure that they were OK – that they weren’t overworked and that everything was going well at home. I was never nervous when I had my Timbits”.
Today, many, many people came out to wish Tod well. Many of these people he met between a box of Timbits. It was never about the Timbits though. It was about the lasting friendships that were built.