In mid-November, I bought an amaryllis bulb from a catalog for my mother. In the catalog, this was a lovely, blooming trumpet of red with bright green leaves. It would arrive by Thanksgiving and bloom just in time for Christmas. When it arrived, though, it was just a sad little brownish-gray stump in a pot full of dirt. No problem - we'd put it on the table, water it now and then, and wait for the magic. We put the plant on the table, Dad watered it, and when Christmas arrived, we still had a brownish stump. No flower, no growth, no magic.
My father finally decided that the amaryllis was a dud, and he gave it back to me so he could reclaim the table and I could get a refund. As he handed it to me, we both said, "Hey, was that little green thing there before?" The tiniest bit of the tip of a green leaf was peeking out of the stump. I brought the plant home, put it in the window, watered it, and watched as it sprouted one leaf, then another. I'm watching several leaves and two potential flowers climb a little taller each day. We might even have pretty red flowers for Valentine's Day.
This has made me think about some of the records programs and projects I've seen throughout my career. A lot of them, I've realized, are a lot like that amaryllis:
- Sometimes reality doesn't look like the catalog. You can read all the articles, take all the classes, and listen to all the presentations, but sometimes, the records program you inherit just doesn't look like all the pretty, shiny ones other people seem to have, especially at first.
- Sometimes your initial assessment of the environment and your customers' needs isn't enough. In my case, a little more research would probably have steered me toward silk flowers or an already-blooming plant. In the case of your program, you may need to look harder at what your customers need before you begin trying to convince them to buy into your program.
- Sometimes you need to work on the environment. My plant needed the right light, water, and attention. Your program might need some nutrients of its own from the right supporters, or you may need to spend more time on certain fundamentals before the rest of the project can take off.
- Sometimes you have to pick a different spot. The right windowsill can make all the difference. If your program isn't taking off in one department, is there another group that might be more willing to work with you?
- Sometimes things take longer than you and the rest of the team think they should. This is not a reason to give up hope.
- Sometimes progress comes just when you think it won't. Sometimes it just takes a little more patience and persistence. If you give up after the first try, you won't have a chance to see your program bloom.
This is the year your program grows. Take a look at where it's positioned and how you're feeding it. Talk to it regularly and tend it carefully. It may not happen overnight, but when it does - magic.
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