Jason

 "If put to the pinch, an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness." - Elbert Hubbard

The great paradox of life is that when you are young, you want to be old. And as you get older, you want to be young again. For those that long to be older, there is one thing that no one tells you: With age comes loss.

I've experienced this the only way you can (the hard way) over the last few years. Most of my grandparents have passed away, I lost the first colleague that I had really grown up in the business world with, and a number of others. Last week, we lost another friend and colleague. There is no positive in a loss, other than the opportunity to remember how they made you aspire to be a better person. In fact, the only way to live up to their legacy is to conduct yourself the way you know they would have.

I met Jason Silvia in 2007. He could be intimidating in a first meeting, based on his accomplishments and stature. But, I quickly realized that the compassion went deep. He was the best of 'Boston', if you know what I mean.

Loyalty is fleeting in many circles today. Relationships are transactional and people come and go. That was not the case with Jason. His hallmark was the ability to build tight-knit teams, ever aligned to the task at hand. Their loyalty to him was immense, yet was outmatched by his loyalty to them. I once read a quote, "Loyalty means I am down with you whether you are wrong or right, but I will tell you when you are wrong and help you get it right." That was Jason, captured in a single sentence. 

I always wondered why he worked for so long. I even asked him that a few times. I guess the answer was staring at me the whole time.