The Power of the Blitz

December 10, 2020

Some achievements require a long-haul marathon of steady effort over time. Some goals, though, are best suited to a BLITZ.

We mostly think of blitzes in terms of sports or military strategy: It's a team of focused people directing an intense stream of effort at an end goal. I'm personally not athletic, so I never understood the power of the blitz before I got into the working world. But blitzes serve as a great uniter of people and purpose, no matter the context.

While you're in the middle of a blitz, it often feels unpleasant, because what your team is trying to achieve is so very hard. You get tired, really tired. But almost always, a blitz comes with great personal reward even aside from the stated goal: You develop incredible bonds with those working next to you, and your physical and mental fatigue serves as a vivid reminder that you aren't wasting your precious time on Earth. You're a doer, and so are your teammates. The world is better than it was before you started, and you can see even more clearly what is possible.

I was part of one of those blitzes last week for the Pirate Toy Fund's toy drive last week. KidsOutAndAbout is one of their media sponsors each year, and for one concentrated week at the beginning of December, we help them raise over 20,000 toys to give to Rochester's neediest kids. COVID has decimated in-person toy donations, as you can imagine, so we also created a safe and easy online toy drive store. In one sense, you could say we failed: Typically during this week, we raise over 20,000 toys through in-person new toy donations, and last week we only reached 10,113 toys... in a year kids need help more than ever. But last week's blitz gave momentum to the marathon, even more people have piled onto the team, and I think we'll get there before the month is out. We get to continue connecting with each other at a time we're craving connection. And best of all, there's zero distance between us and this good thing happening. We all need that this year.

Is 2020 a blitz or a marathon? It depends who you're talking to. I think those developing a vaccine or working on health care's front lines see it as the longest blitz in the history of the world. But for those of us who see it more as history's least-gratifying marathon: Consider putting into motion a small blitz of your own. Look around: Someone needs you. Rally your family to the cause, push it through in one big rush, and there will be zero distance between you and your better world.

—Deb