As a CEO, a key part of my job is telling the company’s story, whether it be to our private equity partners, bankers, auditors, dealers, employees or others. And I have often referred to that story-telling as “dancing” in that it involves artfully putting on a show for the audience.
Among those who have seen me “dance” are GWC’s two ambitious interns from Kings College, Chris and Patricia, who are helping us out for a few months on competitive analysis research. And in the process, Patricia unwittingly inspired the name of my to-be-written autobiography.
A few weeks ago, Jeannie discovered a baby mouse zipping across the carpet, leading to the requisite office freak out. Alicia, our brave ex-Navy sailor, handily scooped up the little critter and released it outside. And for the rest of the day, I occasionally walked through the area pretending to squish mice under my feet. (Okay, I admit to sometimes having the sense of humor of a 12-year-old boy!)
At one point, Georgiann asked me what I would do if I actually stepped on a mouse and got its “guts” on my shoes. I jokingly replied that I’d have one of the interns clean it off! And after a bit of friendly back-and-forth, our intern Patricia (who is soon heading off to a career in public accounting) let me know that in a few years she would be coming back in search of bigger and better things, telling me “Hey, I can do your job: I can walk up and down the aisles all day, stomping my feet and scaring people too!”
I was stunned by Patricia’s quick wit and “guts” in dishing it right back to me and let her know that her courage will take her far. But on reflection, I realized that much of my job is pretty basic, un-sexy, operational stuff like chasing down mice. And that the more bogged down I am in the daily grind, the harder it is to do the big picture, visionary things like imagine, implement and tell the story of a fast-growing, dynamic company. I will re-dedicate myself to trying to stay above the fray. But in the meantime, the working title of my autobiography title is the header on today’s blog.
What Am I Reading?
