The Power of Human Connection – A Lesson in a Mug
A simple mug of Hot cocoa provided me with a lesson about the power of human connection.
My husband and I love to welcome friends to our home during the holidays. I love cooking and seeing what friends brought to share. To me there is nothing like sharing a recipe to spark an amazing conversation about family history, travels or creativity. The idea that someone I know took the time to create and share something special with me always fills my heart with joy. For me, this is a very special act of friendship and generosity. Let me tell you, if you cook for me your ranking shoot up!
Gathering friends around the dining room table for a meal was one of the activities that I missed the most during the COVID19 Quarantine. So when 2022 rolled around and we were able to de-mask and show up in person, the first thing I did was to organize gather people for meals.
One of things I made sure that I prepared was homemade hot cocoa with milk and fresh whip creme. A gathered the ingredients, I realized that this delicious beverage represented the power of human connection in mug.
The Mug of Hot Cocoa represented :
Tradition – Friends, former athletes, student have been drinking this beverage for decades. Being invited to our home has become a rite of passage and the confirmation that our bond of friendship has strengthened.
Hospitality – Stirring the Hot Cocoa pot is an important and shared group responsibility.
Caring – This beverage sends a message to everyone in attendance “that you matter“
Inclusion – I have watched guests of all ages and all backgrounds converse, bond and develop friendships over this simple ritual.
That simple mug of cocoa provided the best lesson that human connection begins with small moments.
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Julienne B. Ryan began her professional career at age five when she did TV commercials and learned important things like “the teamsters always eat first,” her social security number and how to endorse checks for bank deposit.
Ryan studied psychology in college because she wanted to understand humans. She conducted her “field work” in a variety of roles, hearing the phrases “merger synergies, reorganizations, downsizing and rightsizing for change” more times than she cares to mention.
Later she enrolled in an Ivy League graduate school where she paid oodles of money to validate her prior on-the-job learning experiences. However, she did learn to name drop up-to-date theories and trendy psychologists with alarming ease.
Ryan evolved into working in “Talent Management,” a fancy way of saying “try to find people and keep them moderately happy.” With inadequate budgets and staff allocations, she had to find creative ways to encourage her staff to work effectively. These ranged from begging and borrowing resources, improvising childcare, telling stories and even giving snacks as rewards. She tried to convince herself that working a bazillion hours and “multi-tasking” equaled achievement.
Her work took place in cubicles, conference rooms or, with luck, in offices with a door. Occasionally she would make the time to emerge from her allotted real estate to really talk to people. Ryan learned something transformative in the process:
Yes, she was effective. But not because she used fancy theories – or gave great snacks. Ryan’s success, her staff believed, was a result of her uncanny knack for weaving storytelling with humor to motivate and encourage them. Crucially, they encouraged Ryan to de-emphasize “that normal HR stuff” and focus on bringing her unique storytelling skills to a broader stage.
Thanks to them, Ryan continues to collect, connect and tell stories in her work helping people find their “true selves in the world of work.
She is the author of the humorous, all true "The Learned It In Queens Communications Playbook - Winning Against Distraction!".that now includes a workbook and is available at booksellers across the globe..
She is a guest contributor to The Procurement Foundry, LifeBlood, and the global storytelling community.
Certifications include
Accumatch (BI) Behavior Intelligence
Narativ Applied Storytelling Methodologies
Collective Brains – Mentorship Methodologies
