LinkedIn inDay is a special day each month when employees are encouraged to work on inspirational projects and invest in our career paths. These days give us time to think, to take a breath, and to step back for a day with our peers.
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Ryan Daly, one of our summer interns from the Wharton MBA program who has had over 5 years of Active Duty Service as an Infantry Officer. Read more about LinkedIn’s Veteran initiatives here.
Independence Day is a day to reflect, celebrate and remember those who serve our country. I personally feel lucky to be in a position to shape the lives of the men and women who’ve sacrificed so much for our freedoms.
This is a guest post from Ryan Daly, one of our summer interns from the Wharton MBA Program who’s had over 5 years of Active Duty Service as an Infantry Officer. This is a continuation of LinkedIn’s various Veterans initiatives over the past few months. Read more about them here.
This past weekend, we reflected on the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform. We are a nation with an incredible tradition of sacrifice and military excellence. I was lucky to be a part of this community for a period of my life. The most meaningful experiences I had in the military were related to people — men and women who put themselves in harm’s way for the sake of fellow soldiers or innocent civilians. As I write these words, my mind is filled with vivid images of the heroes I worked with who gave their lives during my deployment to Iraq from 2007-2008: Kyle Norris, Darris Dawson, Wesley Durbin, and Ronald Phillips.
We’ve hosted many of today’s business and philanthropic leaders at our “InDay” guest speaker series over the years. As a Marine Corps veteran myself, it was an honor to welcome General (Ret.) Stanley McChrystal to our offices in Mountain View last Friday. After a storied 35+ year military career General McChrystal is now focused on helping American companies succeed in today’s challenging global economic climate. During his time with us General McChrystal shared his views of leadership, the challenges facing the US in today’s global economy, and his personal passion for helping veterans returning to civilian life (his passion for “no man left behind” burns brightly). Many of the General’s experiences translate very closely to today’s business challenges: Relationships Matter
After the conclusion of his presentation General McChrystal spent time talking with several military veterans who joined us for his presentation, some of whom served under his command in Afghanistan. The willingness to help each of these veterans individually and collectively was a clear example of leadership by example. And, watching General McChrystal’s passion for success and his compassion for the men and women that served with him, was inspirational.
in-day: noun A day each month when LinkedIn employees take a break from their daily tasks and inspire each other, learn something new and give back to the community. inDay at LinkedIn began in July of 2010 and was the focus of Team Inspire (Meg Garlinghouse, MaryAnne Viegelmann, and myself) in 2011. Each month inDay has a theme which gives employees a suggested team direction and vision on how we could spend our day.
Themes in 2011 included Innovation, Play, Culture, Community, and Career. Some spend the entire day volunteering, some hosting a 90-minute workshop sharing their career expertise with others, while others spent the time hacking new product and productivity ideas. It’s not about what we do or how long but just that we take a step back from the grind of the task list and choose a worthy cause we’re most passionate about. Personally, my highlights for 2011 inDays are:
