On the occasion of my Grandfather’s 100th birthday.

Nothing like the combination of the untimely death of a former classmate coupled with a three-day celebration of my grandfather’s first century to make a man question his mortality and the meaning of life.

Heavy topics certainly. But one that spins nicely into The Idea.

When I think of my friend Scott, I recall a series of small moments, of simple things that, together, built a picture of him in my head.

When tasked to toast my grandfather, I tried to point out that the accomplishment of a century was one part genes, and one part the result of the millions of decisions he made over that time period. He chose to play handball when others chose to smoke. He chose to eat a peach when others had sausage. He chose to marry, to have children, to live his life honorably and cleanly. Certainly, he made some bad decisions, but my grandfather’s 100 years of life came from making more good decisions than bad.

I believe that we build brands, images and lead like a Seurat painting, not like a Mondrian. We do not make big bold statements with thick black borders. We, rather, build point by point; small event by small event.

My grandfather and my friend Scott created a beautiful image with every action and every decision.

And every one of them matters; personally and in business. These millions of points gathered together illustrate the idea.

Remember that everything you do to support the idea builds a larger image. This is true for you as well as your brand.

RIP Scott Mitchell and Congratulations Jack Kleban.