Jan 12, 2021By Eric Tordjman
I recently had a conversation with a friend who thought they had reached some clarity as to who they are today — filling out a government document, they had to select only one box as to their status. It was a singular question that gave you perfunctory choices but really did not define who you truly are.
It got me thinking about who I am. Who I am at work is different from who I am at home or when I volunteer or to my mom or my brothers or my friends… You get the idea. Who we are is really a multi-faceted trick question. It is really defined by who we think we are in particular instances and within a certain setting… at a point in time to someone else.
We are complex, we have cellular relationships with the people around us and with the world at large.
We support some people and at other times people support us.
We care for some people and at other times people care for us.
We are brothers/sisters/aunts/uncles/moms and dads, and other times other people are exactly that to us.
So the pandemic arrives and throws all of our relationships into turmoil. It adds a dimension to the relationships that we never thought we needed in our “tool-belt.” We have become Supporters and Encouragers of positive thought in public while quietly dreading some days. This pandemic had thrown our regular lives into a spiral that we could have never had anticipated or prepared for. My mom never gave me the skill set to handle this, and yet we all persevere. We as humans have proven to be the greatest adaptors to challenges and adversity. The spirit that I see regularly is at times despondent and yet we go on with life as best we can. We go food shopping with masks. We wipe down all kinds of things we never considered wiping before these times. We drive up to stores and nice people put things in our trunks simply because we ask them to. We email our orders to certain stores and they send us things by mail. It feels like we got an unexpected gift when it arrives — a feeling quickly deflated when we remind ourselves of the impending credit card bill.
The idea that we are singular beings that can be categorized as one thing is ridiculous. You notice that the choices we are given to indicate status are never things like Happy or Sad, Excited or Indifferent… The boxes are exactly that, boxes that are meaningless and hollow. We are creations that are designed to be emotional and complex (some more than others), and I would suggest that at this time of year, during this pandemic, we should think of ourselves as greater than who we regularly are. We will look back on this period, as will the history books, as a time that we survived and made us a little different, perhaps more appreciative. It has reminded us of who we wanted to hug/kiss but dare not. It reminded us of where we wanted to travel to but could not. It has reminded us of events and celebrations that we wanted to attend but resentfully could not. These emotions make us human. These are the things that make us who we are. These wishes and desires are what make our lives so resplendent.
Forget the box that asks what your status is.
Remember who you have become as a result of the people around you and check that box.
Eric Tordjman is Leader of Tireless Workers at Mercury Lighting Solutions in Vaughan, Ontario; www.mercurylighting.com.
Study: The Pandemic’s Impact on Corporate Solvency in Q3 2020
The year 2020 was filled with surprises. One of them was business solvency.
Insolvencies were down by almost one-third year over year during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and were relatively stable in the third quarter. At the height of this century’s previous economic shocks, insolvencies rose by 10% or more. A new study looks at insolvencies during the largest economic upheaval of our lifetime.
Doug Baldwin: An Electrical Industry Pioneer and Champion
By John Kerr
My father asked me to lunch one day and told me he wanted very much to meet with someone in the electrical industry who meant a lot to him, and whose friendship he wanted to share with me. This lunch, in 1982, was with Doug Baldwin.
As lunch progressed, I discovered these men shared many bonds after having met years before in Winnipeg. Doug was with Federal Pioneer at that time, my father with Triangle Conduit & Cable. It seems they hit it off and my father’s wry sense of humour was trumped only by Doug’s.
Wholesale Sales Grew 0.7% in November to Its Highest Level Ever
Wholesale sales grew for the seventh consecutive month in November — up 0.7% to an all-time high of $67.4 billion. Five of seven subsectors reported stronger sales, led by the machinery, equipment and supplies subsector and the building material and supplies subsector. Notably, the increase reflects higher domestic sales of Canadian goods, as both imports and exports of key commodities fell in November.
Wholesale trade volumes increased 0.9% in November.
The Year No One Will Forget
By Sean Bernard
Last year was like none other and one that we all hope never to endure again. The impact on our personal and professional lives has been dramatic, simultaneously universal and unique to each of us.
We have all heard about and experienced the heartache of not spending time with and not celebrating milestones with our extended families, not being able to take those planned vacations, and having to deal with the stresses and challenges of virtual learning with our kids.
Changing Scene
Signify Canada has announced David Grinstead, Market Leader, Canada, Signify will retire at the end of the month. "We thank David for his contributions, passion and dedication to the company and industry," said the company via press release.
Martin Stephenson will take on the Market Leader, Canada role in addition to his current position as Head of North American Systems & Services at Signify. He reports to Kevin Poyck, Market Group Leader, Americas.
Greg Stephenson Joins the AD Canada Electrical Divisional Board of Directors
Bartle & Gibson has announced that Greg Stephenson has officially joined the Electrical Supply Division (ESD) of the AD Canada Electrical Divisional Board effective January 4th, 2021.
Greg is the Senior Vice President Electrical at Bartle & Gibson, based in Edmonton, Alberta. He is now entering his 27th year in the Electrical Industry and he originally began his career working for another proud AD Member, McLoughlan Supplies Ltd in St, John’s NL. During his career, Greg has also worked for many key suppliers such as, Eaton, Thomas & Betts and Siemens.
Peers & Profiles
Ariane Cardinal Discusses her Journey to Stelpro, Mentorship, and Finding Success
By Blake Marchand
Ariane Cardinal is Director of Planning, Purchasing, and Distribution with Stelpro. Ariane owns a bachelor’s degree in Engineering, although she said, “I always knew, when I was doing engineering, that I wanted to have a career more oriented towards management.”
After earning her degree, she did an internship with a company in the gas industry based out of Paris, France, which is where she was introduced to supply chain management. Ariane noted she was interested in the problem-solving aspects of supply chain, which meshed well with her engineering background.