Back Office

One of my favorite things to do on a cruise is write early in the morning.  It’s about 5 am right now, and I’m sitting at a table by the pool.  I could count the other cruisers scurrying about on one hand, but there are plenty of crewmembers running around.  I can see them in the kitchen prepping for the day, and there are others are cleaning and arranging furniture.  There is no shortage of back office activity happening.  Maybe I should take a second to define back office. 

Back office activities are all the things that go on in the background to make things happen.  There is some level of back office activity in most everything.  One of the better examples I’m very familiar with is the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo.  The fans in the seats normally have no clue about the 26,000 volunteers that bust their butt year around to create the event.  The fans also do not see the 1,000s of miles the cowboys and cowgirls drive to get to the events.  That’s exactly how it should be.  When things are done right, all the people should see is a quality show.   

Often times at Starbucks, I’ll think about what all went into the cup of coffee.  I’ll think about the little farmer in the mountains raising the beans, the crops being processed, Ethan grinding the beans at the store and Bob handing me my cup of coffee with a smile.  Thinking about the back office on the coffee gives me a better appreciation of that cup of hot brown water.

In our busy lives, we sometimes forget or completely overlook everything that goes into the experiences we have and things we do.  You can make your day a little better by thinking about the back office activity that went into your cup of coffee, or the guys on the rig that drill for the oil that is used for the gas in your car.  The back office work is what makes the present experience a great thing.