November Rain

My timing was perfect.

It was the first day of November. The leaves had been changing. The temperature dropping. The days getting shorter. And the first big thunderstorm of the season was rolling in.

Our office was focused, quiet, and completely ready for an absolutely brilliant distraction courtesy of yours truly.

As the first drops pelted our roof I cranked the speakers to 11 and in three, two, one…

Do you know the guy who laughs at his own joke? The joke that nobody really gets, but they laugh anyway just to make him feel better. Yeah, that was me. Except without the fake laughs, or any other reaction for that matter. All I heard was a perfectly timed early 90’s power ballad, near deafening rain, and crickets.

Granted this wasn’t quite as eye-opening as the “Popularity of the Beatles vs. Blink 182” discussion of 2012. But my musically-deprived, non-courtesy-laughing, millennial co-workers taught me a valuable lesson, again.

Know your demographic.

I should have realized that our video guy was a two-year-old when Stephanie Seymour rocked that iconic wedding dress. As for the rest of the team, it would be a few years before they were welcomed to the jungle.

Moral of the story: to ensure your message is received, know your demographic. And rock on.