I was sitting in the sun next to my husband's 1969 red
convertible at a car show, happily absorbed in the last
Harry Potter book.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw an adorable
red-haired boy steadily staring at me. His father
approached my husband and they started talking
muscle cars. The young boy saw his opportunity and
approached me tentatively, his eyes fixed not so much
on me as on the object of his affection: the book.
"Have you read it yet?" I smiled at him. He shook his
head rapidly "no." There was longing in his eyes.
And so began a long engaging conversation, actually
a spirited debate, about such meaty topics as the real
story behind Dumbledor's death and Snape's true
intentions. It was magic.
That magic is the power of shared interest and shared
experience. It's the reason companies (at least used
to) send employees on those goofy retreats. It's the
reason people who golf together tend to hire and
promote each other. It's the reason that looking up
from your computer every now and then and asking
someone to share a quick sandwich in the sun could
be the most important 20 minutes of your week.
And no matter how different those you work with seem
to you, always look for common ground. Because I
have to tell you, if I had been choosing teams on that
summer night, I'd have picked the redhead.
