![]() I did some odious work, along with overnight shifts in news at ICRT radio station for a few pennies. I forgot about it, moved back in with my parents in Massachusetts in 1993, and then, facing $30,000 in student loans, maxed out my credit card and bought a one-way ticket to Taipei. I didn't hear back and figured I never would or would soon get a rejection. I wrote Jim at Dow Jones in China, hearing from a friend that he was looking for an assistant in Shanghai. While studying at Berkeley, I received 64 rejection letters from newspapers and wires for jobs around the country. But Jim has helped so many hundreds of young people, he only heard the actual story of how we first connected a few years ago. We've known each other for a long time and were colleagues at The Wall Street Journal. He got me my first reporting job 29 years ago. Didn’t intend to do that, but it’s so saucy I'm going to keep it. Leading is a lonely and sometimes terrifying business, and the more capable the team, the more we managers can focus on the dream. Most importantly, however, it feels incredibly good to have people we can count on to help guide the company at critical times. This has allowed us to be fairly nimble and creative, to minimize mistakes, and to recover quickly when we made them. ![]() Disagreements are great, disrespect is not. Make a clear, knowledgeable, reasoned argument, defend it when questioned. I was also right to make it clear early on that anyone on our team - and I do mean anyone - had a right to both disagree and put forward an opinion, regardless of age, education, or dancing ability. I was, however, completely right in hiring an extremely capable young team. If left to my own devices, me and my 30 years of business experience would have deftly steered the ship straight into the nearest iceberg. I was wrong about our initial marketing strategy, wrong about our core customer demographics, wrong about market positioning, wrong about the intensity of emotion our families would feel both for us, and for what we do. My experience is irrelevant, however, as it in no way prevents me from being frequently wrong. If they were somehow on planet earth then, they were perfecting cornering a tricycle while I was pecking away at Windows 95 spreadsheets. I started working before many of my managers were born. I’m the classic problem - founder and CEO of the company, 20+ years older than most of my team. Show me a young company that stifles internal disagreement and debate, and I’ll show you a company about to hit the rocks. You'll be amazed at just how awkward it is, and he might even appreciate it. Call a really good friend who is male and over 40 and tell him how much he means to you. Be the person who tells the truth, but isn't a pecker about it. Spend time with the people we like, rather than those we think we're supposed to be with. So be a pit bull on the pant leg of opportunity. We are officially free agents to chase our dreams, because in the grand scheme of things there is absolutely no consequence. In a way that's a little sad, but on the flip side it's amazingly liberating. Our fears, wins, hopes are but a gerbil fart in the cosmic wind. ![]() It doesn't matter whether we succeed or fail, win or lose. ![]() The truth is that virtually no-one actually cares about what each of us do. If it takes just a few months for most people to forget about one of the most famous people to live in this last century, then they must certainly aren't going to remember anyone reading this, including yours truly. Realizing that I haven't heard anyone mention Queen Elizabeth's name in months, and she's only been gone a year or so. I remember both her name and her face, and I am uniquely gifted in that most of the time I typically remember neither. Not trying to be overly simplistic here, but safe to say she was super famous. So I was thinking about the Queen of England. TerraCon 2024: The 1st Annual Terramation (Body Composting) Conference #terramation #TerraCon2024 #funeralhome #deathcare #ecoconscious Tickets can be purchased at the link below. TerraCon is an incredible opportunity to learn first hand about how eco-conscious death care is sweeping across the country, and the massive societal, economic, and environmental implications that will come with it. An amazing example of a leader who truly leads by example. Marsh is truly amazing - she not only spearheaded and sponsored terramation legislation in her home state of Oregon, she also chose to have a close family member terramated when he passed. Just a reminder that the first annual TerraCon 2024 body composting conference is happening in Tacoma on Feb 21-22, 2024! It's going to be amazing - scientists, regulators, funeral directors, legal whizzes, religious leaders, and families who have seen their loved ones through the process. ![]()
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