A Tender Moment with the Obama’s

Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on November 28, 2008 under Honest Moments | Be the First to Comment

Did you watch Barbara Walter’s interview with the president elect and his wife on Wednesday night?  YouTube has the entire event in small segments and I would recommend you watch if you haven’t.

During the first part of the interview with Michelle, (around minute 3 of the attached video) there is a tender, honest moment between Barack and Michelle.

When we think of national and world leaders we imagine people who are serious, focused and driven to success – or at least I do. We can tell ourselves they put their pants on one leg at a time, but if we try to put ourselves in their shoes to understand the magnitude of their responsibility and their impact on the world, it just becomes impossible.

They are too far above us ordinary folks. It is impossible to imagine having anything in common with them. We have a hard enough time ruling our own roost let alone having an effect on the roosts all around the country.

But in that one moment of honest tenderness between husband and wife on national television we can suddenly envision hanging out with our next president and his wife.

He reaches over to tell her she has lipstick on her tooth and she admonishes him for not listening to her when she’s talking.

What a moment.

I guess the bigger reveal for me was that this very personal moment didn’t land on the editing floor.

So how does this relate to our every day life with customers, vendors, employees and peers? I guess it says to me that we should never be so focused on business that we can’t afford to be a little human. For it is in those little human acts that we become relatable – someone you want to hang with – someone you want to have a relationship with. 

Someone you want to do business with.

I wish all the best for our new first family as they transition into their new lives, facing umpteen challenges; both monumental and everyday.