...yet

It was our early start-up days - a year before the acquisition.

The 6 of us were in a small conference room talking to a prospective client about the (really objectively awesome) software robotics & automation platform we'd built.

My oldest brother, the founder and CEO, was leading the call. He was breaking down exactly how our customers were dramatically cutting costs in full transparent detail. And as the customer was thinking through how much they could save with our software robots, my brother concluded: "The only thing it won't do is pick up the phone and make a call."

There was silence as the customer digested it all. And I, the Sr. Software Engineer at the time, invited only to provide engineering support for technical questions felt compelled to break the silence.

I muttered (though still intentionally audibly) "...yet."

My brother glared at me. I smiled. We were generally pretty good at staying strictly professional at work - so while I knew I was in hot water with the boss, I'll admit, I was a little proud to have gotten my brother's goat.

Luckily (for me) we landed the client and "...yet" took on a new meaning. It transformed into a rallying cry for possibility.

"...yet" became how we concluded calls. "It can't make a call ... yet".

"...yet" became the joke we'd sometimes drop when a customer would ask us wildly ambitious questions.

"...yet" became the reminder that we weren't done, and we couldn't wait to show our progress.

"...yet" became the mantra for what we were working towards.

There was a time when we were much younger: we were out somewhere, and I was desperate to be back home. He was frustrated by my impatience and quoted the Rabbit from the Trix cereal commercial. The Rabbit, always desperate to get his hands on a bowl of Trix, had set up an elaborate plan to keep the kids from getting in the way. He just had to wait.

"Patience is a virtue." the Rabbit said. It's what my brother quoted back to me on that impatient day. Of course, I was too young to know what any of that meant.

"...yet" eventually became the proxy for the white rabbit's message.

For the challenges we face - skill and talent are sometimes not enough. We wish it could be - but sometimes, it's just patience.

"...yet" is for perseverance. It's for those patience-is-a-virtue type challenges.

"...yet" eventually became the reminder that I still had time with him.

"...yet" is how I remember him.

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