The Hat That Meant the World to Me

I get pretty close to the people I work with. I’m not always sure whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

Then I think about my friends on Bobcat’s product safety team, and I’m pretty glad I do.

A little over ten years ago, I showed up at Bobcat to give a presentation about a service my company provided. I found out we weren’t really being considered for the work. The meeting was essentially a courtesy to our former owner.

Let’s just say the room didn’t exactly feel like it was waiting for my presentation.

But I shared what I believed was the right approach and a different way of looking at things. Somewhere in that conversation, things changed.

That courtesy meeting turned into eleven years of working together.

Eleven years of developing things, building things, and having a lot of fun along the way. The product safety team at Bobcat became some of my favorite people in the world.

I work for a different company now, so I no longer get to do that work with them. But I still think about them, reach out, and spend time with them.

These are my friends.

And there’s one moment I’ll always carry with me.

As you know, I’m the guy in the hat. The flat cap is pretty much part of the uniform at this point.

At one of our meetings, the team gave me a Bobcat flat cap they had made specifically for me.

A Bobcat flat cap. Made just for me.

My favorite gift, made just for the guy in the hat.

I’m pretty sure it was the first time I’d ever cried over a gift.

They had taken something that was so personally me and put that kind of thought into it. After all those years of working together, that little hat said a lot.

It’s my favorite gift, and I wear it every chance I get to be around them.

I can’t say enough good things about that team or how much I enjoyed our years together. I went into that first meeting hoping to earn some business. I came away with people who are still part of my life.

To my friends on the Bobcat product safety team: thank you for the work, the fun, the friendship, and a hat that means more to me than you probably realize.

You guys mean the world to me.