Build A Better Box

If it weren't for a wood shortage in England, I wouldn't be here. As a kid, that's the story my mother used to tell me. John Alden - one of the original Plymouth settlers and Mayflower Pilgrims - was a cooper by trade. He was sent over on the voyage from England to repair and maintain the wooden barrels used to store food and liquids, as wood was in short supply and the cost of material replacement higher than the cost of skilled repair.

My mother is a professional genealogist. From a young age, I'd grown up in a house full of stories - other people's. Mom revels in the discovery of a long-lost 3rd cousin (twice removed) on my great-great-great grandfather's side. Or perhaps a story from 140 years ago about how an entire small town might have been founded through an inherited plot of land. Her several published books and directories are full of these names and their stories, immortalized in text for reference by future family seekers. Long after our ancestors have passed away, the stories of those people  - especially through their own documented genealogies - live on and on. And we learn from and are inspired by them, affecting our lives and those of our descendants for generations down the line.

Although it took growing up to reflect more on all this, I'd been taught something important - and it's a lesson all of us should keep in mind. Whether thinking as an individual or as a company, it's critical to consider the shelf life of the actions we take and messages we spread. Like fleeting sand castles, the stuff we make doesn't last nearly as long as the residual effects: the memories of their creation and of the building process. For example, the brand impact of Apple within its market can live long enough for consumers to buy Mac after Mac as each is replaced over time. Our Macs don't last a lifetime, but our loyalty to the brand can.

Think hard about the lasting equity we can create in our own stories, and treat them as investments in ourself and in our businesses. At the end of the day, have we created something of true legacy that people will talk about, learn from, and be inspired by? Our stories are timeless, and will resonate long after we do.