[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":101},["ShallowReactive",2],{"article-\u002Farticles\u002Fwork-for-a-good-person-and-alongside-good-people":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":7,"date":82,"description":83,"extension":84,"image":85,"imageAlt":85,"leadImageFit":85,"meta":86,"navigation":87,"ogImage":85,"path":88,"seo":89,"sitemap":90,"status":91,"stem":92,"tags":93,"tldr":99,"__hash__":100},"articles\u002Farticles\u002Fwork-for-a-good-person-and-alongside-good-people.md","Work for a good person and alongside good people","Jon Wexler",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":77},"minimark",[10,14,17,24,27,30,44,47,53,56,59,62,68,71,74],[11,12,13],"p",{},"When I joined Bloomberg in 2017, I moved to Manhattan, left startup life for a corporate environment, and entered software development where my code had a significantly greater financial impact. The appeal of working at Bloomberg included a good work-life balance, decent pay, and great employee benefits. On my first day in the office, I met my team member, Sharon Kass, who, despite having already worked at Bloomberg for a couple of years, continually and enthusiastically expressed her excitement about working there.",[11,15,16],{},"At this point in my career, I was interested in learning to adapt to enterprise workflows, writing code at a higher level, and seeing my production code used by professionals. I was under the assumption that I was too many degrees removed from our CEO, Mike Bloomberg, to interact with him or have him acknowledge my work. Sharon disagreed.",[11,18,19],{},[20,21],"img",{"alt":22,"src":23},"Sharon Kass, Mike Bloomberg, and Jon Wexler at Bloomberg","\u002Fassets\u002FarticleImages\u002Fsharon_mike_jon.png",[11,25,26],{},"Within my first two months at the company, Sharon invited me to help her lead a coding class for teens during Bloomberg's Take Your Kids To Work (TYKTW) day. During that event, we both met and took pictures with Mike Bloomberg, who thanked us for volunteering to make the company more inclusive and family-oriented. Wow, what a surprise! Sharon was ecstatic. She really admired Mike Bloomberg as both her boss and a world leader. Over the years, if Mike made particular donations, offered volunteer opportunities in the New York area, or took meaningful action during a world crisis, Sharon would be the first to tell me about it.",[11,28,29],{},"What followed was my increased involvement in philanthropy opportunities at the company (where Bloomberg generously made donations to non-profits and NGOs to match employee community involvement — a program internally called BOB hours). Mike's focus on philanthropy influenced Sharon's determination to give back and, in turn, immersed me in a lifestyle where I would ensure that every hour I could manage that year would be volunteered. As a result, I was able to raise $15k+ for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), $5k+ for ALS research, and thousands for under-resourced education organizations.",[11,31,32,33,43],{},"A year later, Sharon began chemo treatments and asked me to take her place in presenting the teen coding segment at the annual TYKTW. I had just published my first book, ",[34,35,36],"em",{},[37,38,42],"a",{"href":39,"rel":40},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FGet-Programming-Node-js-Jonathan-Wexler\u002Fdp\u002F1617294748",[41],"nofollow","Get Programming with Node.js",", and wanted to see if Mike would sign a copy. Sharon responded, \"That's a fantastic idea! But you should sign it for him! You're the author.\" It was a good idea.",[11,45,46],{},"Near the end of the day, I caught Mike after he gave a speech to the attending families. I introduced myself as an engineer in the Bloomberg Law org and presented him with my book. \"Wow, you wrote all of this?\" he said as he flipped through the pages. He thanked me and proceeded to tell me about his days writing COBOL and FORTRAN in the early Bloomberg days, as professional photographers surrounded us. We spoke for a few minutes, and I distinctly recall his care and attention, ensuring that I felt heard and actively engaged. More importantly, I thanked Sharon for making this opportunity possible for me and for breaking this invisible veil that inevitably distances individual contributors from their almighty leader.",[11,48,49],{},[20,50],{"alt":51,"src":52},"Jon Wexler showing his book to Mike Bloomberg","\u002Fassets\u002FarticleImages\u002Fjon_mike_book.png",[11,54,55],{},"Sharon's condition worsened, though she still came to work. During Mike's presidential run, Sharon bought all of his merch. She was a proud supporter of a man she admired and whom she felt had unknowingly supported her. Friends and family can attest that Sharon's immense dedication to Bloomberg, both the company and the person, was intrinsic to her personality.",[11,57,58],{},"Eventually, I moved on from Bloomberg for a new opportunity, and Sharon slowly took more and more time away from work for chemo treatments. I still had weekly calls where Sharon would share work gossip with me and hype my new ambitions and initiatives. Gradually, Sharon stepped away from volunteer positions, such as mentoring at STEM robotics competitions, as well as hobbies she loved, like bird watching in Central Park. Between January and November of 2023, I would visit Sharon regularly and pick up medication for her at CVS. Times were tough, but she would still talk to me about work, not out of anxiety, but out of true love for the culture she missed. In mid-November, Sharon let me know that she was nearing the end and began the administrative steps to prepare accordingly. It was heartbreaking. It was also debilitating to know there was nothing more I could really do to help at that point. But there was one more thing I felt compelled to try.",[11,60,61],{},"That same day, I went home and drafted an email detailing how integral Sharon had been to Bloomberg's work culture and how connected she felt. I wrote about her condition and how there must be countless employees at the company who had met her, many of whom Sharon likely also introduced to volunteering for good causes. The main part of the message was asking for a final meeting between her and Mike Bloomberg himself. I quickly sent the PDF of the letter to good friends and ex-colleagues at Bloomberg. It was seemingly a long shot, but worth a try. I waited two days, but heard nothing about making this happen. Little did I know, it had already happened:",[11,63,64],{},[20,65],{"alt":66,"src":67},"Sharon Kass post about receiving a call from Mike Bloomberg","\u002Fassets\u002FarticleImages\u002Fsharon_post.png",[11,69,70],{},"Just hours after making a post in her CaringBridge online journal detailing her medical journey and explaining that it would be ending as she stopped taking new treatments, Sharon posted that Mike Bloomberg called her, and it cheered her up as nothing else had in recent years. I visited Sharon the following week. Despite her frail condition and lying on her favorite couch, she could not wait to tell me about her call from Mike checking in on her. \"He said he would call back again, and he did two days later to talk some more!\" she informed me. \"He is an amazing person!\" Sharon repeatedly stated. I was surprised, but very happy that Sharon's spirits were uplifted in those final days. I never told Sharon that I wrote that letter. I first shared this story during my eulogy at her funeral a few weeks later.",[11,72,73],{},"That was the last time I talked to Sharon. Her ceremony was flooded with Bloomberg employees, understandably. I woefully helped carry her casket as I thought about how colleagues can make positive impacts from day one on the job and how good leadership attracts good employees. I'm grateful to Mike Bloomberg for understanding his value and respecting the significance that his conversation had. Above all, it was a meaningful human experience.",[11,75,76],{},"Mike didn't know Sharon well, or how well she knew him. But he demonstrated what compassion and appreciation should look like in business. So, work for a good person and alongside good people. They will make you a good person too.",{"title":78,"searchDepth":79,"depth":80,"links":81},"",2,3,[],"2026-05-08","A Story Time reflection from Bloomberg: how optimism and an embracing work culture shaped my view of compassion in business.","md",null,{},true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fwork-for-a-good-person-and-alongside-good-people",{"title":5,"description":83},{"loc":88},"published","articles\u002Fwork-for-a-good-person-and-alongside-good-people",[94,95,96,97,98],"story time","career","leadership","bloomberg","philanthropy","Great leaders and great teammates can shape your values for life. This Story Time piece reflects on why compassion and culture matter as much as code.","2ISA9OlnWbmxCnBd7lORSFmiw6qGCHwxHOUWhpjgbPA",1778276269296]