The memo is from 2014, when the president-elect Joe Biden was serving in his second term as vice president.
It runs only 126 words, after the simple greeting, "To My Wonderful Staff:"
Joe Biden is typing here:
I would like to take a moment and make something clear to everyone. I do not expect nor do I want any of you to miss or sacrifice important family obligations for work. Family obligations include but are not limited to family birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, any religious ceremonies such as first communions and bar mitzvahs, graduations, and time of need such as an illness or a loss in the family. This is very important to me. In fact, I will go so far as to say that if I find out that you are working with me while missing important family responsibilities, it will disappoint me greatly. This has been an unwritten rule since my days in the Senate.
Thank you for all the hard work.
Sincerely,
Joe
This is a hell of a piece.
Let's dissect it and pull several lessons from it.
First, in a clear and concise manner, the opening sentence tells you what Biden's top priority is and it spells out how he feels about it.
In the age of short attention span and skim reading this is crucial, yet very rare.
Biden's memo echoes what the facts have said for quite some time now.
We work long hours.
We're definitely more stressed out than we should be.
And far too many of us get way less sleep than needed.
Making sure we're spending time unplugged from work hanging out with loved ones should be a priority, not an afterthought.
Not much room for confusion there.
Second, the overall message is incredibly empathetic.
Biden starts with “To my wonderful staff”, indicating respect and appreciation of the people who work for him.
After all, he takes the time to record in writing that he wants his people to put their personal lives ahead of work in certain circumstances and that if they don't, "it will disappoint me greatly."
Considering the story of how he lost his first wife and his daughter in a car crash in 1972, and the fact that his son battled cancer and died makes the note even more poignant.
Saying goodbye to loved ones is something we do every day.
But we need to be prepared for those to be the last words we ever say to them.
Also, notice the phrase "working with me", not "for me".
It speaks volumes about Biden and the values he stands for.
Yeah, character counts.
"Thank you all for the hard work."
He signed it simply 'Joe'.
“In my generation, it was about quality time instead of quantity. There’s no such thing as quality time. Every important thing your child will say to you will be off-script as they say, it will be at a time when you don’t expect it. Kids can hold an idea for maybe 12, 14 hours, but after that, it's gone. You lose it...I don’t want anybody on my staff feeling an obligation to do something for me when there’s something that matters in the family. There’s nothing noble about it.” - Joe Biden
Finally, note two things the message does not say.
It doesn't say that work should never be a priority.
And among "important family obligations." you won't find family vacations or leaving work earlier.
Now, maybe you read this and think: "Ok, what's the big deal?"
Of course, I wouldn't want my team members missing on things like a family wedding or birthday.
If so, does your team know that?
Have you taken the time to remind them all, by putting it in writing?
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