If you visited social media last Friday – any social media site – you may have noticed #happybirthdayholly trending. Glancing at any post would have showed you that this originated at the Widget Factory where I work, beside more than 266,000 of my best friends across the globe.
So what happened?
An email issue caused a distribution list error and resulted in the entire company - all 266,000 employees plus company contractors and consultants - receiving an email meant for a specific team.
And what was this email about?
Why, Holly’s birthday of course!
Amy, why are you telling me about this?
Thank you for asking! Coincidentally, I actually know Holly. I worked directly with her in my previous role. When I received the original email, I thought that I was mistakenly still on the team distribution list, and it wasn’t until I received the first 10 or so replies from employees all over the company that I realized this was way bigger than little ol’ me mistakenly being on a distribution list.
Ok, cool…so what actually happened?
Let’s do a little math: I have 266,000 best friends here at the Widget Factory (best friends = teammates, and that’s a conservative estimate because it doesn’t include the contractors, consultants, and others who aren’t classified as employees). More than 300 ‘reply alls’ were sent in reply to the original message, all of which went to all of my best friends, which means that more than 80 million emails were received around the world in regards to Holly’s birthday! Guinness World Records doesn’t report a record for most birthday emails sent, but the Widget Factory collectively may have set some sort of record last week.
And those 300 replies, well, those can be divided into three categories:
1. Happy birthday Holly!
2. You have the wrong person on this email/I don’t know Holly.
3. Stop replying all! (My personal favorite, and another potential world record: most Stop Replying All emails sent.)
There were some rumors that it wasn’t actually Holly’s birthday, rather that her birthday is in April. I don’t know where that originated, but I can confirm that January 8 is Holly’s birthday, and a day that the Widget Factory should consider adding as a new company hollyday (get it?!) The company even got in on the fun, wishing Holly a happy birthday on various social media platforms.
Every year, the Widget Factory names a plush animal after an actual historical animal that worked for the company way back in the day when it delivered the original widgets. My fingers are crossed that one of those horses was named Holly and that the 2021 pony will be named after that horse and the birthday girl. And the Widget Factory should consider naming Holly its spokesperson, similar to Flo from Progressive and Jake from State Farm. Holly from Widget Factory - how great is that?
In my 10+ years with the Widget Factory, last Friday was one of my favorite days. This error brought our company together like never before, which is welcomed anytime, but needed during these lonely days of 2020/2021. It gave us something to unite around, something light and happy, and I know I’m not the only one who has Holly’s birthday saved on my calendar for years to come.
With all of that said, no, of course this is not a best practice. Lots of lessons were learned from this experience, namely, don’t reply all telling people to stop replying all. But it does show that people need things to celebrate and a reason to do it together. May we continue to find moments of celebration and unity in the every day.
So Holly, wishing you the happiest birthday from your best friends across the globe! Here’s to it being one to remember…for all of us.