Volunteers and veterans

A man stands up at a charity gala. The room applauds.

As promises go, standing is the easy part. The hard part comes later.

• The easy part: Standing up and declaring allegiance, alignment or commitment to a cause at that moment. The applause and appreciation validate your decision.
• The hard part: Keeping your promise in those quiet, thankless moments that nobody else sees. Where you do what you do because of a decision you made years ago.

Teams that stand the test of time tend not to be impressed with ‘the easy part’. No applause for standing. After all, they’ll have likely seen many posture and fall.

Rather, they’ll more likely acknowledge and respect ‘the hard part’ with nods of appreciation along the way.

Who gets your applause, the volunteer or the veteran?