Good afternoon, I trust this finds you well. It is a wonderful day here on the west coast, and I am reveling in the weather and the fact that I ran my best time ever in a 10 k race yesterday. The Vancouver Sun Run is a municipal institution now, and over 50,000 people ran, walked or wheeled 10 k through the streets of downtown Vancouver. (56:36 was my time.)

Meeting with a friend for a walk and breakfast this morning, he too ran the race, and suggested that it was a "spirit run." I think what he was suggesting was that the times for many people didn't matter, it was really about getting out with thousands of others into a lovely spring day and just getting some exercise together. It was therefore about the health of the community.

I have been thinking then for the rest of the day about those times in organizations where it is important, just to do something for the health of the organization. It's not just about income and overhead, it's about the health of the organization, and sometimes you just need to let loose for a day or so! Stephen Covey talks about the importance of re-creation, instead of recreation, and I think he's talking about the same thing. What is it that you can do individually and collectively in your organization to help the re-creation of people and the team.

On that note, I'll be taking the next 3 Mondays off, and enjoying some re-creation on a Greek island! I'll come back at the end of May with stories, and I hope some new insights.

I hope each of you finds some down time in the next three weeks to share good times with family and friends.