Little Fish, Big Pond

Tuesday I went to one of the largest clubs in the US (which also happens to be close to where we live) to meet with one of their guys in a department of interest to me.  I have spent many hours listening to messages by their head guy and read/consumed many of their leadership resources.

When I first sent them an email requesting the meeting about a month ago, I never dreamed that I would receive a reply or be granted a meeting.  To my surprise and delight, Jim agreed to meet with me.

From all I had read, this club has a reputation of excellence that goes from the executive positions all the way through the organization. This was confirmed to me when I first walked in the door.  I was about 45 minutes early for the meeting (I had misjudged the traffic) and had some time to kill.

The woman at the front desk, Cynda, was extremely kind and gracious to me and allowed me to interrupt her other work for about 25 minutes.  She shared that she and her husband were charter members of the club and and that.her husband, an architect, had designed/collaborated on several of the club's campuses.

Shortly before Jim was ready, I had the good fortune to be at the front desk when the head guy himself walked out to chat with Cynda.  Barely able to overcome that starstruck feeling, I introduced myself, gave him a card, and asked to shake Andy's hand.  Quite a moment for me personally.

After a pleasant meeting with Jim, he offered to refer me to someone who might be good to talk to and then escorted me to their bookstore.  He spent the next 20 minutes handpicking out resources (books, DVD's, and CD's) he thought might be of help to me.  I was dumbfounded as he loaded them into two large sacks, asked for a receipt, and then GAVE them to me.

Though I didn't leave with any promises, I definitely left with an impression.  This organization, from the top down, walks their talk.  And though I felt like a little fish in a big pond, and have no guarantee of further interaction, I'm still mighty grateful for the opportunity.