It’s a Spring morning in 2011 and I’m standing outside the Verizon Center in Washington DC.
I’m here for an event called Get Motivated! It’s part rally, part sales pitch with a bit of religion thrown in right before lunch.
For just $1.95, I purchased one ticket and with that, the opportunity for as many other free tickets as I want. I decide to inform the group that was the predecessor to my INNER CIRCLE, at least those that lived locally, that they could go with me. Fortunately, my INNER CIRCLE there has a lot of folks I see and know in person.
I went to Get Motivated! the year before with my friend Bruce in Baltimore. There were a few motivational speakers I’d never heard from before, then came Ed McMahon, the late sidekick of the later Johnny Carson. There is always an athlete. That year it was Steve McNair, the quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens. At noon was a religious message by the event’s founder Peter Lowe. It involved having someone in the audience come up on stage and break a board with their bare fist, like a karate man I guess. Not sure what the lesson was. The session went on in the afternoon with the main event being a speech by Colin Powell.
But, right before the religious, karate thing, we were honored to hear from the legendary motivational speaker Zig Ziglar. I’d read a couple of his books and seen his seminars and he is a wonderful speaker.
Zig got up to a standing ovation and as he talked, you could tell he’d aged, but it was the same old Zig. I felt privileged to see him in person.
This year’s lineup in Washington, DC included Steve Forbes and for the athlete, Sugar Ray Leonard. Colin Powell was still batting cleanup at the end and Zig Ziglar would once again be making an appearance.
Soon, my INNER CIRCLE arrived at our designated meeting spot. It included Gary Vogan, the CFO I befriended during my time at Holy Cross Hospital. Two outplacement clients I worked with showed up too. It was a nice reunion. Soon, the others showed up and we entered the venue and occupied two rows of seats.
The speakers were ok. Clearly some were past their prime, but Sugar Ray Leonard was good.
Then it was time for Zig Ziglar.
As in Baltimore, he enthusiastically took the stage, but this time his red-headed adult daughter accompanied him.
It was the same old Zig with the infectious smile and twinkling eyes. He acknowledged the crowd and then said,
“People always ask me, Zig, are you retired? And I say NO, I’m not retired, I’m RE-FIRED!”
Even though the crowd roared their approval, I could clearly see very little of that “fire” was present.
Then Zig went on with his routine. Stuff we’d all heard before. All was well.
Until Zig repeated one of his anecdotes. The crowd hesitated a bit, then applauded and laughed. It was sort of awkward.
And then, Zig repeated the same anecdote a third time. The crowd made a collective, silent sigh of sadness. It was hard to watch.
Zig’s daughter mercifully intervened.
“Daddy, tell them about the time you sold pots and pans door to door.”
And he did.
It was sad. And painful. For us as an audience and I’m sure for his daughter. Likely, Zig was unaware of his cognitive decline. Someone should have had his back.
And on that day, I made myself a promise.
“Mack, that will NEVER be you. You need to move on before you ever get to that stage.”
That was 14 years ago. The time has flown by. And now, that time has come.
After my last gig in Louisiana at the end of July, I’m stepping down as Founder and CEO of Boss Builders.
It’s not because I have health problems or cognitive issues. At least no more than a man of 61 should have at this age. It’s because the time is finally right.
A few years ago, I did a values exploration with a colleague, Rachel Mohr. Through this process, she guided me to create some core, personal values. One of them was legacy. Here it is:
I am finishing strong. I’m willing to walk away at the top of my game. I am leaving a positive memory that people will remember fondly.
At the time though, I was NOT on top of my game. Part of it was due to a significant lag in business post-COVID that I took very personally. Plus, I felt bored and burned out. I wasn’t enthusiastic. Because I moved out of my office and back into the home office, I couldn’t use my document camera to do my virtual sessions because of shitty internet which meant I couldn’t use art. I wasn’t enjoying what I was doing. I wanted to quit right then and there, but I owed more to Lisa and Rachel and my clients, few as they were. And I owed it to myself to hold true to that Legacy value.
But things have changed. Over the past year, even though business remains slow, I’ve felt recharged. Maybe even RE-FIRED like Zig Ziglar wasn’t. I’ve leaned in hard on storytelling and over the past year, the comments from workshop attendees and those that come to my conference sessions have been super positive. I finally feel like all my experience has come together and I’m at the top of my game. I’ve never felt more confident. I’m never at a loss for an answer to a tough question. I believe I’m as good now as I’ve ever been.
Which means, the time has at last come.
After all, if you’re a sports fan, you probably remember watching an aged, overweight Muhammad Ali lose his final fight by decision to Trevor Berbick in 1981. You may recall watching Troy Aikman, Terry Bradshaw, Bret Farve, Payton Manning, and many other NFL stars hang around way too long, their diminished skills on full display. If you love Elvis, you can’t tell me the final performances by The King weren’t disappointing as an overweight and overmedicated Elvis attempted to shake his ample hips to some of his classics as well as covers of other has-beens.
But contrast this with Barry Sanders. The running back of the hapless Detroit Lions who retired in the middle of his prime. Or Andrew Luck. Or Luke Kuechly. Or Calvin Johnson. Or Jim Brown. Or Aaron Donald. We may never know how many Superbowls or Pro Bowls or stats these folks would have attained. But they chose to leave at the top of their game. We’ll never see any of them play past their best days or go to multiple teams as a backup or a bridge. They will always be remembered at their best. Period.
And that’s how I want to be remembered. The last thing I want is to be up on a stage and the audience says,
“Oh Mack is so cute! Look at him drawing the Three-Legged Stool of Great Performance. SO good to see him still plugging along at 70.”
I’m not cute. At all. And I don’t want to be the object of someone’s pity as I struggle to remember things or repeat myself. At least not on a public stage.
Between now and the end of July, Lisa and I will be transitioning things over to Kate Vendemio of Mt. Vernon Consulting. I met Kate shortly before COVID when she was a guest on my podcast a few times. We had talked then of some sort of collaboration, but the time wasn’t right.
Kate is roughly the same age I was when I started this work in 2000. But I had no experience then, save for what I took from 15 years in the Navy. The rest I faked.
Me when I first started in this business. 2000.
But Kate’s been at this for some time. She punches well above her weight and has expertise that I don’t. She is engaging, edgy, creative, and driven. Kate is the right person to take the baton.
Lisa will stay on through the transition, at least until the end of the year.
If you are a client or a friend of Boss Builders, you are in good hands.
My final project will be my last business book. It’s working title is Straight Talk for the First-Time Boss. You know who the intended audience is, and it will be in story format and in my authentic voice. Expect expletives and very edgy examples. Management is a dirty business. I’m going to present as many lessons as I can in that voice. It’s the only one that people will remember.
As for me, I’m going to continue my work with storytelling. Maybe work with organizations and marketing teams helping them craft better stories to promote their products and services. I think a 61-year-old storyteller has credibility. Just as long as he can remember the story.
I’ll be going full speed into pottery. Who knew my legacy would be creating custom cigar ashtrays?
And maybe do some BBQ catering here and there. Competitions are fun, but the smart guys are the ones selling BBQ to people while the rest of us spend $400.00 to cook for a panel of judges, who take one bite and throw the rest away.
I will continue the INNER CIRCLE. That’s been helpful for me, keeping me accountable with my writing and storytelling. I hope you’ll stay with me.
There will be more to follow, but that’s what I know for now.
Thanks for being a part of the INNER CIRCLE and Boss Builders.