Once in a Blue Moon

Greetings.  It seems fitting that only six days after the death of Neil Armstrong we should have a "blue moon."  This is a somewhat rare occasion when the moon becomes kinda sorta not exactly blue.  In fact, the idea of a blue moon really has less to do with the moon changing colors than with the fact that our calendar isn't perfectly aligned with the 29.5 days that it takes the moon to orbit the Earth–also know affectionately as my favorite planet.  Given this, there are times–slightly less than every three years on average–when a single month ends up having two full moons, with the second one being called the "blue moon."  And tonight is one of them.  August 31st, 2012.  The next time a blue moon occurs will be in 2015.

And while this scientific phenomenon is relatively cool, it should cause all of us to think about the phrase "once in a blue moon."  It's a phrase that has come to mean an event that is exceedingly rare…like a company coming up with a truly profound and valuable new product or a truly remarkable customer experience, a help desk solving our problem in less than a minute or a seventh grader keeping his room clean.  A phrase that we often use to suggest something that we would love to have happen regularly but simply don't expect to be a standard operating procedure.

And yet they could be.  

Which begs the simple question:  "What are all the 'once in a blue moon' things that you and your organization do that really matter to the customers and citizens you serve?"  And, which ones would be more powerful if you did them consistently? If you and all the geniuses you work with could somehow figure out how to make them a habit.  Because they might be a key to greater personal, team and business success.

We win in business and in life when we understand all the things that really matter.  And when we commit to getting them right every day and by the light of the moon.

Cheers!