Dyson — the former CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises — closed his speech with this metaphor that would become one of the most widely shared pieces of commencement wisdom. The five-ball juggling metaphor was memorable because it was both simple and subversive: in a speech to graduates of a top engineering school, the CEO of one of the world's largest companies was telling them that work was the least important ball. The glass balls — family, health, friends, and spirit — 'will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same.' The word 'irrevocably' carried the weight of the argument: work failures were recoverable, but neglected relationships and health were not. Coming from someone who had spent decades in the corporate world, the warning had particular credibility.