Lifting GraceRock

Recently, my husband bought the crystal pictured on the left above as a gift in tribute to my starting GraceRock. This piece then inspired the GraceRock Logo shown on the right. It is by artist Harold Lustig. He uses a “di-chrotic” metalic finish perfected by NASA for use in building space shuttles that causes the crystal to be multi-hued as it rotates.  Click this video to see it in action.  That explains the logo but not the name. In the rest of this post, explain the origin of the name GraceRock.

My college roommate spent time in Asia with the Peace Corps and she had a saying – “lift the rock.”  The term originated from their team’s efforts to implement good sanitation practices. Where they were stationed,  sanitation was considered a household responsibility, and despite the obvious benefits, they faced real challenges. My roommate and her colleagues were indeed trying to convince those around them to just lift a few rocks…or dig a few holes… in the name of sanitation, clean water and the obvious associated health and general livelihood benefits. Nonetheless, inspiring others to lift those rocks was hard!

This effort struck a chord with me; it was the late 90’s, and I was having similar struggles working in Silicon Valley. As Account Managers, we were working with recruiters to teach them that electronic resume management was a far superior to paper and fax machines. The benefits were so obvious, just…lifttherock! This saying become my expression for just about anything that is both obvious and not easy.

This past week, a friend shared another story written by Peter Bregman in Harvard Business Review about something he saw on a Disney Safari. During the Animal Kingdom tour, the lion is *always* perfectly perched on a rock. In this case, temperature control is the trick to drive the desired “behavior” – the rock is heated when it’s cold out, and air-conditioned when it’s hot. Bregman goes on to share several good stories that illustrate where the slightest change to a situation can drive true outcomes.

This leads me to the name GraceRock  – the Rock is inspired from lifttherock and Grace from its simple meaning (and my namesake). Together may they inspire the simple elegance and strength to tackle what lies ahead. Let it be noted, however, that I’m not opposed to bringing in a heater, an air conditioner, or some rare steak to help-out as well!

‍