We’re starting to grow up as a company a bit. Real full time employees, daily reports, planning sessions, licenses and more taxes than we thought possible. So, one could make the argument that we shouldn’t post about personal things on the company site. However, when we started Coeur, we honestly wanted to create something unique. In a world that seems to be more self-absorbed and exclusive (as in "you're excluded") than ever, we hoped to do our little part to push the pendulum in the other direction. Inclusive over exclusive. Compassion and love instead of ruthless business. You before me. In other words, we wanted to have real values and a culture that represents who we aspire to be as human beings.
It came about a bit organically, but a couple of the ways we have kept the atmosphere right in the office have been lunchtime masters swims, little nap breaks in the afternoon, frequent (corny) jokes and by allowing a couple of four legged fur balls to help around the office and the warehouse. Beau the Berner and Kona the Husky.
While they didn’t have formal job titles, over time Beau and Kona carved out a niche for themselves. They kept us safe from a variety of dangers including the UPS Driver, the Mailman, and any squirrels that happened to be in the area. In addition, at noon and 6:00 p.m. one or both would dutifully get up from the warehouse (they liked to nap on the cement floor) and stroll into the little design studio to let Kebby know that it was time for food. While it’s hard to assign a business benefit to either of those activities, we appreciated the effort and considered them both to be part of the Coeur team.
Sadly, this week Kona our little Husky crossed what some of you may know as the “Rainbow Bridge”. He had been getting up in years and we knew we were on bonus time, but when it comes to a dog’s love one can never get enough. Kona was a rescue and Kebby named him for the location of Ironman Hawaii years before she ever competed there or even thought about founding Coeur. He had been by her side for 14 amazing years and part of Coeur since day one, so needless to say, everyone here feels a deep sadness about his passing.
There’s no doubt we’ll feel the pain of his loss for quite some time, but in an effort to find the positive in a tough situation, we took a few minutes to reflect on the attributes that dogs have that we might do well to emulate. While there are many, here are three that seem particularly relevant to us as a company.
First, there’s the relentless optimism. No matter how tough the previous day, a dog wakes up in the morning with a clean slate. In their minds, good times (and dog treats) can always be around the corner if they play their cards right. We hope we can continue to bring that positive attitude to the office every day.
Second, dogs offer undying loyalty and a strong sense of service. Once the bonds of friendship and love have been created, they will literally lay down their lives for you. While it’s hard to argue that endurance sports are life and death, we do know that we serve others and we want to put your interests ahead of our own.
Finally, dogs don’t judge based on superficial things. They don’t care about your appearance, the size of your bank account, or whether you made the podium at your last race. Just treat them kindly and they’ll reciprocate until the end of time. We believe this one is universal and in our heart of hearts, we want to find a way to spread this value far beyond the walls of Coeur Sports.
There’s no doubt that humans have flaws and we are no exception to the rule. But if there is a positive to the passing of our four legged office mate it is a reminder of what really matters and an appeal to the better angels of everyone's nature.
Or in other words, let's all aspire “To be the person that our dog thinks we are”.
Happy Training and Racing!
Your friends at Coeur