It was February 21, 1900. I was in my last semester of grad school and working full time.
I had just walked into my office after a meeting in Connecticut. Hadn’t even taken off my coat when the phone rang. It was my husband.
“Are you sitting down?” he asked.
“Seriously? Who says that?” I protested.
“No, I mean it. Sit down.” To humor him, I complied. “Our house is burning down,” he told me.
You’ve finally managed to secure an appointment with someone you look up to as a leader. You’ve watched her TED Talks and read her articles. Getting an actual appointment was a long shot; you’re excited to be able to meet her in person. In fact, you’ve been working on some ideas for a new project that you can’t wait to get her perspective on.
You show up at her place of business, only to find a line of people outside her office, snaking down the hall. This is disconcerting and doesn’t fit with your image of how such a leader would manage her commitments, but, after all, she is a busy person and so important. You take your place in the line. After an hour, you are first in line.
It was February of 1990. I’d just walked into my office after a long drive from a meeting in Connecticut. Picked up the phone to check voice mail. There were three messages from Jim’s office manager, Karen: “Please call me as soon as possible.” “Please call as soon as possible.” “Call me immediately!” This was years ago, before everyone carried cell phones and was instantly reachable.
