Yesterday, we brought our programming along w former Knicks 1st Rnd Pick in the 2003 Draft, @mikesweetney to @jpmorgan
JPMCtalks is made avail to their entire workforce, monthly. Hundreds of thousands of employees where these types of convos abt impt topics – are made avail in-person, live on video, & also on-demand.
The session was run by the firm’s Managing Director of Global Wellness.
Why’d we bring Mike, when this is a bank? A number of reasons: Ok, 1) athletes can be a draw & Mike was drafted & played in the very city where the session was hosted, but 2) perhaps most importantly, to relate to as many in the firm as possible – Mike’s story strikes the right chord.
His focus isn’t a label – “anxiety/depression,” nor the symptoms. His focus is what happened TO him, that spun his MH out of control. Selected #9 overall, rt after LeBron, Carmelo, & Wade, in NY to the Knicks, at the Garden, coming from Georgetown (following Patrick Ewing), the world was in Mike’s fingertips.
Just wks later he was at Rookie Transition Program, w the top 30 players in the world just drafted, & his phone wouldn’t stop ringing. It was his brother. Their father – who’d been Mike’s best friend…been to every one of his games as a kid thru college, & JUST dropped him off, had died suddenly of a massive heart attack. The highest of highs to the lowest of lows.
Mike turned to eating as his coping mechanism. Hid his pain bc in 2003 you couldn’t talk abt these things. Had a suicide attempt while on the road (that he doesn’t remember even attempting – it just came over him). Was out of the league some 4 yrs later.
Vulnerability is what connects ppl & changes culture. During the session – JPMC’s: “This is Me”
Campaign video played – 5 min of employees of all backgrounds, levels, geographies sharing their vulnerable stories – their “stuff” w/o a focus on labels. JPMC has had 100 staffers share their MH journeys online, already…the most read of JPMC’s online resource posts.
The # of heartfelt notes from employees Mike & I have gotten since has been incredible.
Looking fwd to doing more w JPMC. They get “it” & are a model for other orgs.