This past Friday, I had the wonderful opportunity to be the guest of Cox Communications at the LPGA at Kingsmill. While the afternoon was beautiful - from the prime skybox seats right on the 18th, to be able to stroll the manicured grounds, to watching the best women golfers in world – it was the morning that really got to me.
Cox invested in a three-hour leadership summit. The morning was anchored by VP of the Federal Reserve in Richmond, Dr. Ann Macheras and Bloomberg TV broadcaster, Peter Cook. Insightful, thought-provoking commentary - all good. But the last hour was special. A panel consisting of Captain Chuck Hollingsworth, US Navy, “Tree” Rountree, CEO of Monarch Bank, Bill Downey, COO of Riverside Health Systems and Glen Rupert, executive coach, was moderated by Cox Business VP Michael Braham. Each spoke to the challenge of leadership in these difficult times. Each spoke to the central theme of what leadership really meant, about trust being the currency of change and about investing in your biggest asset – your people. I witnessed a lot of passion. Real stuff, not sound-bite stuff. Each spoke about people who had shaped their leadership abilities. They talked about books they were reading, and I was scribbling as fast as they were talking. My Kindle will be loaded soon. It was a great exchange, full of wisdom and heartfelt passion for what they were doing and, more importantly, the people they were helping to shape to ensure their success into the future.
As Mike wrapped up the panel discussion, he left us all with a great challenge. Who would be the five people we would put on our personal Board of Directors. Wow, that made me sit back a bit. If I had to pick five of the friends and associates I have made in my 54 years, could I do it? Who best could help shape the person I am yet to be? I’ve given it a lot of thought this weekend, and I can see I’ll be chewing on this for awhile. But I’m not giving up until I finish my list. I think my Board may be bigger than just five. So let me ask you – who would be on your Board of Directors?
Then Mike took the stage for final comments. While choking back a lot of emotion, he spoke about the previous day when Cox had hosted a cadre of wounded war veterans during the 1st round. Being a military guy, you could just feel the compassion flowing from him towards these young men and women who had given so much. You could tell it was one of those moments where he was very proud of the company he worked for and the people he worked with. Lots of us tough guys in the room choking back some tears as well. A great story shared. That’s the world we live in these days. One where stories help us connect our companies to the people who might choose to do business with us one day.
It made me think some more as I wandered around that afternoon. I think often we get jaded. We think of the companies we partner with, often in frustration, as just a collection of voice mails prompts in a never-ending parade. Then, occasionally,we get to look inside the company, meet the people behind it and see something much different. Friday, I had that opportunity, and was grateful for it. I’ll look at this partnership differently now – it was good before; but it just got deeper, richer. Feels like my turn to pay it back.
