Workplace eulogies risk sounding like a performance review. Avoid it by picking one moment that had nothing to do with output — a piece of advice, a kindness on a bad day, the way they treated the newest person in the room.
An example, in this voice
She had a rule that she'd repeat to every new hire on their first day: 'Nobody remembers the deadline you hit. Everybody remembers whether you were decent about the one you missed.' I've now repeated that line to eleven new hires of my own, in her exact words, because I never found a better way to say it. That's the strange thing about the best managers — you don't remember most of what they taught you as instruction. You remember it as inheritance.
Common questions
- How formal should a workplace eulogy be?
- Match the tone of the memorial service itself — a company gathering usually allows warmer, more personal language than people expect, as long as it stays respectful and specific.
- Is it okay to talk about their work at all?
- Yes, briefly, especially if their work reflected their character (their patience with a hard client, their generosity mentoring others). Ground it in a specific example rather than a résumé-style list.