A Letter from Chris Suarez

I spent the last couple of days in the woods with the family. We found a few feet of snow in the national forest. We found rushing rivers and powerful waterfalls. We found some incredible hikes, some beautiful views, and a couple of dogs to play with along the way. We didn’t find Sasquatch, although it wasn’t for lack of trying on my kid’s part. And in my family, the weekend wouldn’t be complete without finding a small book store and a local coffee shop.  


It was a couple days of being “unplugged.”  

Or was it?


That word means something different to many. For some, it’s a digital detox. They turn off their computer, their phones, all digital devices. For others it means no contact with the outside world, no conversations with clients or business partners, or email. For me, that isn’t necessarily the case. Yesterday, I talked to a couple of partners while going for a walk. Last night, I posted a few photos of the day on social media. This morning, I sent a couple emails over coffee. This evening, I sat down to write my weekly letter to the team. Tomorrow evening, I’ll sit down to prepare for my week ahead. So that got me thinking. What really is “unplugging” and what purpose does it serve.  


When you pull out a plug from the outlet in the wall, ultimately what you are doing is disconnecting it from the “hot” wire where there is a constant current running. It is more than just turning off the switch.  


When you flip the switch on the wall, it may turn off the light bulb or cut the power to the appliance, but the current is still flowing to the outlet. It is there if you need it. In fact if not monitored, a plugged in appliance even when not “on”, can still cause a house fire.  


For me, a change of scenery in effect is a recharge. I flip the switch on my daily schedule or rhythm. But I don’t necessarily pull the plug. It’s like adding a third prong to a two-prong outlet. In North America most plugs have two different sized slots in addition to a rounded grounding slot.  There is a neutral line, a hot line, and the grounding line.  

For me, the change of scenery is that grounding line. The current may still be flowing. I may still be plugged in. In fact, others may still be plugged into me, as technically I can be reached. But the change of scenery for a couple of days, and the change of the daily routine grounds me. For me the outdoors is grounding. I like to think of it as my renewable energy. The U.S currently generates only 17% of its yearly energy usage from renewable sources - water, wind, and solar being the top three, followed by biomass and geothermal.  Perhaps that’s a letter for a different time, but our incredible planet has proven to me that it can produce every bit of energy necessary. At the very least, it can provide all the energy I need.  

The flip of the switch has the ability to force us to think about things differently. It has the ability to reconnect us to what is most important. It has the ability to confirm our commitment to our mission.

So perhaps I wasn’t truly unplugged, but I had my third prong. The current was still flowing, but I was grounded. Some may judge that, but I’ve learned we are all different. What we need may be different. But plugged in or unplugged, we all must be grounded.

Remember, the grounding line of the outlet and chord keeps you safe. It protects you and those around you. It is no different in business. We all need to change out scenery. We all need to occasionally break the routine. Some of us need to flip the switch. Others may truly need to unplug. We learn that about ourselves over time. One of the things I appreciate about partnerships is we are here to not only allow each other to do this, but force each other to do this.  

That change or break allows us to think about problems differently, we look at our challenges in new ways, and we often create solutions that seemed impossible prior.   

Flipping the switch and unplugging is needed for those who lead us and those whom we lead.  It is needed by those that lean on us and those on whom we lean.  It is needed by those who love us and by those whom we love.

Chris