We are what we repeatedly do.
- Aristotle
 
Seventeen years ago this coming month, the Legendary Birthday Fairy (BF) came into being on the eve of my son's fourth birthday. It was a 4-martini evening after a stressful day which led to one of those "wouldn't it be funny if..." type of conversations that gave way to a family ritual that I have been assured will be carried on into the next generation.
Here is how it goes: during the wee hours of your birthday morning, the birthday fairy quietly visits your bedroom and drapes it from ceiling to floor in toilet paper and writes a clever poem to coincide with your age on the bathroom mirror using her bright red lipstick. (i.e. "You're 8 today, so make it great! love, BF" or "now thirteen, no more in between, love BF", etc)
The birthday morning ritual of wading through the toilet paper and discovering the bathroom mirror message started out as a vodka-induced prank and evolved into a family tradition. One that stood the test of time and remained relevant even as the Santa and Easter Bunny myths were debunked by my kids' bratty peers.
It became one of those uniquely 'ours' rituals that helped create a shared sense of family constancy during the challenges and changes of the growing up years.
A silly family ritual? Or a relevant leadership idea? I think it is a little bit of both.
Rituals are tools designed to focus our minds on something bigger than ourselves allowing us to transcend the day-to-day and connect with some type of higher purpose or vision. And just as religions and well-run families benefit from the use of rituals, so can organizations seeking transformation and breakthrough.
Take a few moments to read how in the following articles taken from the Harvard Business Review Blog Network:
(If you are a subscriber to HBR, click these links)
Rituals: How Leaders Can get Things Done (for the pdf version, click here): HBR Rituals for Leadership What rituals have you created for yourself and your organization? How have they served you well as a leadership tool? If you have not created any up to this point, perhaps you can scribe this on your bathroom mirror as motivation: Start a ritual and make it habitual love, BF (be sure to use bright red lipstick as the BF would)
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