I was certain I was right (once again!). This was decades ago, and I was telling someone on my team (I’ll call him Martin) that we couldn’t do what we wanted: According to IT we couldn’t fit videos on our company’s network because our pipes weren’t big enough.

I forgot about the issue, but a while later, Martin put something on my calendar about it. (“Did he not hear me?”) My assistant must have accepted the meeting, and I forgot to follow up. As I was about to leave work the night before the meeting, I noticed the appointment again and was considering declining. That’s when Martin knocked on my door. He wanted to make sure I was going, given that several people were flying in for this meeting. I agreed.

When I walked into the conference room the next day, Martin had decked it out with info about a technology he had found. He had placed name tents at every seat. The CEO of this tech company sat across from me with his impressive-looking team. Oddly, the IT people who told us our pipes were too small…they were there, too. Smiling.

Martin had found this technology that could zip our videos and easily fit them onto our system. The tech would also save money for IT. Martin had willed this technology into being at our company. And he had stopped me in my tracks by grabbing a hard-to-book conference room, and making it clear to my senses that “THIS IS IMPORTANT.”

Three lessons:

• We need people like Martin who won’t listen to our naysaying. Like a dog with a bone, they won’t stop until they make it happen. Let’s let them lead us.
• If you want your hardheaded boss to listen to you, it helps to appeal to their senses.
• If you’re thinking of becoming a leader, don’t ever tell yourself “But I’m not the CEO.” Martin knew he didn’t have rank; what he had was a passion to learn, know more, figure it out and get it done. Reminding ourselves of rank retards our growth.

Often in my career people asked me, “What do I need to do to become a director?” My answer: “BE a director.”

(About this, at least, I was right!)

Let me know what you think. I look forward to being in touch.

Al Comeaux