The holidays in New York City offer a many unique activities. This year Grand Central Terminal celebrates its 100th Anniversary with the Centennial Holiday Light Show. Every night, the three famous arched windows on the west side of the Main Concourse transform into colorful pictures. The 118 individual panes of glass in each of the windows become a pixel* of a bigger image. Without activating all the pixel/pane, the picture is incomplete. The same is true with companies. Each employee must be viewed as an important and vital “pixel” that needs to be engaged in order for the company to realize its goals.
Through their daily work responsibilities, each person’s contribution is a “pixel” in the company’s “bigger picture” vision of success. In order for that vision to become a reality and for the picture to be complete, it requires every employee to be activated. What makes employee engagement different is that human beings are not as predictable as pixels. Sometimes people are “switched on” and sometimes they are “turned off.”
Each person has the ability to be a source of light or darkness. Engaged employees are a reliable source of light. They actively participate in helping the company achieve success. Employees who are Not Engaged are in the gray area of the light spectrum and reduce the brightness of the full picture. They are the dimmer switches in the room. The Actively Disengaged employees are sources of darkness. They aggressively work in the shadows against company objectives and cloud the vision with their negativity.
The completeness of the full picture depends on the leadership team and, ultimately, the employee’s direct manager. It is their responsibility to help employees understand how their “pixels” help to create the bigger picture.
How do you “turn on” your employees? What are your thoughts on the comparison of people to pixels?
About the Centennial Holiday Light Show1
Presented by Toshiba
November 21-December 26
Every day from 5-11PM
Main Concourse – West Side Windows
*Pixel: Any of a number of very small picture elements that make up an image2
1 Grand Central Terminal. “The Centennial Holiday Light Show presented by Toshiba.” GrandCentralTerminal.com. Web. 10 December 2013.
2 Dictionary.com. “Pixel.” Dictionary.com. Web. 10 December 2013.
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Let’s Get Engaged!
I’m Agent in Engagement Simpson…Greg Simpson.
My mission? To help companies succeed by focusing on how they engage, manage, and develop their employees.
My credentials? Award winning engagement work with Fortune 150 companies.
My next assignment? To come in from the field, the consulting field, and return to headquarters. There I’ll lead the ongoing battle against the greatest nemesis in every company – employee disengagement.
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You can follow me @agtinengagement, email me at g…@a…t.com or learn more about me at www.gregoryfsimpson.com.
