The Bridge

by John Kennedy

One single word can have so many different meanings, and one of my favorites is the word “bridge.”

In a song, “the bridge” is the musical passage that connects two parts of the composition. There are many wonderful examples of bridges in great music…so much so, that Billy Joel has a remarkable 80’s album named “The Bridge.” A beautiful “bridge” in the song “A Matter of Trust!”

The next time you listen to a song, see if you can identify “the bridge” in the music.

One of the most dramatic bridges I have ever heard is from the band “Yes” with “Owner of the Lonely Heart.” Yup…I just made you go back to the early 80’s!! Sorry…not sorry. [Be sure to watch Yes perform "Owner of the Lonely Heart" below. It's a Live performance in 2017 as they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.)

More bridges:
Bridge--card game. Bridge--dental work. The bridge of a ship. The bridge of your nose.

Here a bridge, there a bridge, everywhere a bridge, bridge.

The bridge most of us think of the moment the word enters your lexicon is a physical bridge—a connecting structure between two places. The Chesapeake Bay Bride. The Brooklyn Bridge. The great bridges into the city of Cincinnati at last year’s Fall Event.

Recently, Souny and I moved to Flagler Beach, Florida, and the bridge across the inter-coastal waterway that connects the beach to the mainland is a stone’s throw from our home.

I’ve taken to walking the bridge each morning and watching the sun rise as I turn around and walk back over towards the beach. It is a wonderful way to start the day. I am truly a lucky man.

The locals here on the beach side have a funny saying---“Please don’t make me cross the bridge.” In essence, please don’t make me face the fast pace of the real world…let’s keep it slow and easy.

Each day we wake, we change from our “family hat” to our “work hat” and struggle to keep them separated. And when we “cross the bridge,” to work, we cross from our family time to the front lines. And, at the end of each day, cross back over…

So many of us fail at this effort--to actually cross over the bridge and leave the front lines of our business behind us and put our “family hat” back on.

I often tell my clients, “Your business is actually a family member.”

It’s a sibling to your children that attended every baseball game, funeral, wedding, graduation, birthday…all of life’s mile-markers that were celebrated by your family. And while that was happening, your business was peaking in, and sometimes stealing the attention of the moment.

Your kids have had to compete with their business sibling their entire lives…

As we look to The Fall Event and the new year ahead in 2025, how many of you are willing to commit to “please don’t make me cross the bridge,” and begin to build the emerging leadership bench of your business enterprise so that you can stay on the beach side just a little longer?

Even if it’s a long weekend, take the time now, because none of us are getting any younger.

Many of you have already begun this process and for that, I salute you…many of you have been thinking about it, and deep inside know that it is time. And some of you are already on the other side of the bridge…good on ya!!

And for a few of you, work is your life…you find joy and purpose and fulfillment in the dignity and value of work, and I must say, Souny and I are right there with you. I get it!

There is much to be said about finding passion and purpose in your work and life…and some of us just happen to have them both in the same place—our work.

With 2025 just around the corner, it’s time to begin your new year planning of strategy, succession, and success. It can also be time to commit to cross back over the bridge each day and keep your family time and work time separated as best as you can.

Do you know who is making a better effort at this? The emerging leaders of the industry!

They are defining the boundaries of their lives better than us old folks ever did. They don’t want to have their kids have an extra sibling…they want the bridge they are building to be long enough that when they cross it, they know they have entered the beach side of their life after a long day or week.

They are also building business continuity within their enterprises earlier…not waiting until their 60’s or 70’s to ensure things get done in their absence. They are learning the art of unplugging, and although that may not be what the past generations did, it is what this generation is doing.

As we fall into fall and The Fall Event, it’s a good time to get connected with others who are at the very same place in life as you. Early to the industry, new Group members, emerging leaders, new owners, next generation family members, transitioning, transforming, and possibly retiring…find your people, share your stories, learn from each other, share hops and hope and expect a BIG impact in Big D.

As the age-old adage goes… “when is the best time to plant a tree?”

The answer: Either 25 years ago… or today!!

When’s the best time to build and walk your bridge? 

The answer is found in the great lyrics and bridges of the musical “Rent”—No day but today!

See you in Dallas!

Yes performs "Owner of the Lonely Heart" below. It's a Live performance in 2017 as they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.