I've got conference calls from 8:00 am non-stop until 1:30 pm today. Yehah! The next week will be a busy one, but next Friday, Cathie and I are going to Cedar Point with some friends to ride the new Top Thrill Dragster ride. 420 feet high with a top speed of 120 mph. Can't wait.

Last night I was reflecting on some of the influential bosses I've had over the past 10 years. All five were/are very strong leaders that took me under their wing and mentored me in a number of ways.
My first boss, Jerry, helped mold me fresh out of college when I was young, rebellious and full of big ideas. I would sit in Jerry's office for hours and hash through life, spirituality, my job, people and get his unique perspective on things. He gave me huge opportunities, including running lead on some of the company's first really big projects. Not to say I didn't screw them up, but I learned, and in the end I grew. I then went to work under Bill C, who was a very strong leader that had a great business and political sense and wasn't afraid to be challenged. Bill's key motivator was money and power, and advacement at all cost. He flipped the "Mission, Men, Me" philosphy upside down to "Me, Mission, Men". He was a physically strong man with I learned as much from about what I didn't want to be from watching Bill, as I did about what I DID want to be from others. While working under Bill, I also reported up to Barb, who taught me all about being successful by promoting others at all cost and servant leadership. Barb went to great lengths to promote me and coach me around how to communicate with others, and being a gentleman at all times. She was never condecending and taught me so much about being a leader through serving. Bill B is my current boss, and probably the one who's had the greatest impact on me. Bill and I have worked together almost ten years. Bill started at ASG, under Jerry shortly after I did. We've become close friends over the past few years, going to the next level in our friendship two years ago when Bill, Brad, Will, Noel and I went to a retreat in Colorado that connected us at a very deep level as a "Band of Brothers". Bill is an amazing leader that has tremendous integrity, leadership and concencus building skills. Bill has an amazing loyalty among his people. This is partly due to his Bill's easy-going personality, his integrity, and his team having the knowledge that Bill will never ask someone to do something tha the wouldn't do himself. Bill has given me great career advice and has helped me move up through the ranks of the organization. He has looked out for me in many ways, and always has my back. Bill gave me the confidence to move into my current role as a principal, and has taught me how to do the job and not piss the whole world off while doing it. I ask myself all the time, "WWBD - What would Bill do in this situtation?" I currently report to Bill in our organization, and Bill in turn reports to his boss, Mack. I first met Mack in January at our kick-off meeting in McClean, VA at the Xerox Document University. Mack is the Vice President over our entire practice, responsible for all sorts of stuff. When I first met Mack, I'd had no exposure to him, and I'd only heard feedback from Bill as he'd begun to work with him. Mack was in the military as a part of Special Forces for about 20 years, and is a phenomenal leader. He has an amazing calmness, confidence and charisma about how he leads. From the get-go, I was impressed with how he led. Mack's philosophy from his military background was the following: "A good day is when nobody dies" - so he has lots of good days. Earlier this year, Mack agreed to enter into a mentoring relationship with me. We meet a couple of times a month, plus Mack allows me to be a fly on the wall at some of his executive meeting. He's one of the first people at a true executive level that I've had a lot of interaction with, and I'm fascinated at how he processes tasks, information and relationships. We start these calls of with specific topics and then move laterally to whatever comes up. It's something I'm very excited about.
What brought all of this to mind for me was a couple of opportunities I've been given by Bill and Mack recently, and how my career has somehow gotten to where it's at, without me having to sell out my core values or change my personality drastically. I got to thinking about all of the support I've received along the way, and all of the strong leaders I've come into contact with, each with very different styles and values that helped shape mine. I'm amazed at how God has created me, and helped shape me through people and situations. Go figure.