There is an old proverb...
....."Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed."
This week has been unusual. I woke up Monday morning in Tyler, TX, drank a Red Bull and about9 hours later I was in South Texas. I'm not sure about all the in-between stuff, but I assume that I somehow packed the car, drove 7 hours and stopped a couple of times to ward off boredom.
Tuesday, I sat with important people and talked about important things and tried to make sure I sounded like I knew what I was talking about. It reminded me a lot of working in higher ed, except none of us were dressed as nicely as we did at the university...and there wasn't a coffee shop 30 yards from my office...and instead of a boardroom on the 3rd floor, this week we met in a barbeque joint across the interstate from a large refinery (it's funny, where important people like to eat...)
...forgive the digression.
After that meeting, I have been busy. Thinking, praying, reasoning, calculating, writing, and talking...talking to smart people who might help me best navigate the challenge that has been put before me. When I say smart people, I really mean visionaries who have accomplished much in their careers and lives....presidents, professors, CEO's, chairpeople, directors and the like. I'm doing this not because I trust these people without regard to my own intellect or deisres, but rather that I don't trust my own intellect and desires sometimes. I want to make sure that my ambition doesn't run away with my integrity or my sanity....I love both and would hate to be without them.
One thing I realized is that these intelligent visionary types are rather accessible. Most of the time, they were at the end of an extension that I could get off the internet. The ones that weren't there were within email range....and all of them agreed to talk again if I needed any more help or advice.
To quote a friend "I love being the dumbest person in the room."
This week has been unusual. I woke up Monday morning in Tyler, TX, drank a Red Bull and about9 hours later I was in South Texas. I'm not sure about all the in-between stuff, but I assume that I somehow packed the car, drove 7 hours and stopped a couple of times to ward off boredom.
Tuesday, I sat with important people and talked about important things and tried to make sure I sounded like I knew what I was talking about. It reminded me a lot of working in higher ed, except none of us were dressed as nicely as we did at the university...and there wasn't a coffee shop 30 yards from my office...and instead of a boardroom on the 3rd floor, this week we met in a barbeque joint across the interstate from a large refinery (it's funny, where important people like to eat...)
...forgive the digression.
After that meeting, I have been busy. Thinking, praying, reasoning, calculating, writing, and talking...talking to smart people who might help me best navigate the challenge that has been put before me. When I say smart people, I really mean visionaries who have accomplished much in their careers and lives....presidents, professors, CEO's, chairpeople, directors and the like. I'm doing this not because I trust these people without regard to my own intellect or deisres, but rather that I don't trust my own intellect and desires sometimes. I want to make sure that my ambition doesn't run away with my integrity or my sanity....I love both and would hate to be without them.
One thing I realized is that these intelligent visionary types are rather accessible. Most of the time, they were at the end of an extension that I could get off the internet. The ones that weren't there were within email range....and all of them agreed to talk again if I needed any more help or advice.
To quote a friend "I love being the dumbest person in the room."
posted by Shaune at 10:31 PM
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