How Groundhog Day Can Revive Your Business
Imbolc, also referred to as Candlemas or Oimelc, occurs on February 2, marks the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. This is a holiday of the returning light. Similar to Beltane (May Day), and Samhain (Halloween) marking halfway to full light, and halfway to full darkness in the Northern hemisphere respectively. A return to the light is requisite for us to lead and participate in the development that needs to happen in the disruptive business and social environment we are in. [ed.]
How Groundhog Day Can Revive Your Business
Get out of your burrow and see beyond the shadow
“Life has a curious way of repeating itself.” — Bill Murray
While T.S. Elliot, in the first line of his iconic poem, “The Wasteland”, claimed that “April is the cruelest month,” I beg to differ. It’s February by a long shot.
Bottom line, February sucks.
It’s short. It’s cold. And it’s sandwiched in between two other questionable months, January and March.
When push comes to shove, there’re only two good things about February — Valentine’s Day (February 14) and one of the oddest minor holidays in the known universe: Groundhog Day (February 2).
The origins of the American holiday?
It goes all the way back to a Pennsylvania Dutch newspaper stunt that proffered: if a groundhog (known as “Punxsutawney Phil”) emerges from its burrow on February 2 and sees its shadow due to clear weather, it will retreat to its den and winter will last for six more weeks. If it doesn’t see its shadow, spring will arrive early.
Ah, Punxsutawney Phil! The patron saint of stockbrokers!
FULL DISCLOSURE: While the tradition remains popular in the 21st century, studies have found no consistent association between a groundhog seeing its shadow and the subsequent arrival time of spring-like weather.
Cashing in on this bizarre tradition, in 1993, the now classic movie, Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray, was released in which the main character is forced to relive the same day (February 2) over and over again until he learns some very powerful life lessons.
Now considered a masterpiece, “Groundhog Day” has become a metaphor for what most businesses suffer from these days: doing the same thing over and over again until they learn their lesson.
“Insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result.” — Albert Einstein
The question becomes, “What can we do to change it up in a way that’s productive, energizing, and relevant?” Sometimes efforts to inject new processes or experiences can come off as inauthentic, or contrived. What’s needed is a “do-ing” that can impact the way of being.
Our programs at Face the Music are designed for people to access collective and self-expression through a process that invokes emotional intelligence, collaboration, creativity, and resolution. They’re a framework where the people there create the content and can discover processes and ideas (and that way of being) that can transfer to their lives and workplace.
Two years of a global pandemic has made everyone feel a lot like groundhogs shivering underground. Indeed, the collective mood, these days, of the global workforce has never been as down and disheartened. Time for the return of the light…
Organizations all over the world have called on Face the Music to revitalize their workforce, spark collaboration, increase agility, catalyze innovation, and raise the bar for leadership.
Our clients? GE, 3M, Bank of America, Microsoft, PayPal, Novartis, McGraw Hill, Nestle, Pepperdine University, Corning, JP Morgan Chase, Ernst & Young, Pfizer, Moen, Club Med and a host of others.
“Face The Music provides a unique and fresh approach to a group looking to build their culture and community. They are pros! What a blend of knowing how to work with organizations and their dynamics with the richness of music.” — Anne Feyerherm, Chair, OD, Pepperdine University
“Face the Music was an extraordinary experience.” — Peter Jung, CEO, Moen
That’s what Face the Music is all about: revitalization, engagement, teamwork, connection, community, self-expression, commitment, and doing whatever it takes to accomplish extraordinary results against all odds.
Curious? Interested? Feeling the love? We’re just a phone call away (845.687.2100) or an email (info@facethemusicblues.com).
If you’d prefer digging in deeper before reaching out to us, feel free to click on any one of the following links from our website.
Call us: 845.687.2100
Email: info@facethemusicblues.com
“I can’t even begin to tell you how much fun this team building exercise project was for everyone. If not for FTM, our offsite would not have been a success.” — Janine Iofrida, Pfizer
“Face the Music was a complete success. Our people had fun, took risks and understood how valuable the exercise was. We were especially impressed with the high quality of your musicians and your professionalism in managing a huge number of teams.” — Valerie Beroin, Sanofi-Aventis
