Christopher V. Flett

I spend last week in Seattle working with Liam Brown (one of the Ghost Advisers on the Ghost CEO team). Between the two of us, we were stood up a total of four times. One particular real estate team, desperate for a meeting with a business coach, completely forgot about her meeting with us.  She was quick to make excuses when Liam called her at her offices (she had a migraine that day, her kid was sick, wasn’t sure where her business partner was). We decided to try again and said that we would meet her after work on Thursday.  I was coming back from another weird meeting and was hustling to get to the meeting spot on time. Our meeting was at 5PM. At 5:15PM, Liam called her to see where she was. She was stuck in traffic. Unbelievable. When a professional can’t get their shit together twice in a week, it is telling. It is no wonder her business is going to shit.

You are living your business’ brand every time you meet with someone, do a project, or put yourself out there. We are establishing a presence in Seattle and it is likely that our two companies will cross paths in the future. How do you face someone that you screwed up with twice. Reputation takes years to build and only moments to lose. This woman’s efforts, or lack their of, will now be an example for talks that I give around the country.

On the other side of the professionalism scale, I had a meeting with the Dean of Seattle University‘s Law School. I normally discount academics as not being business focused and I couldn’t have been more wrong. The Dean and I had a frank discussion on why women don’t make partner as quickly as their male counterparts and discussed some ideas on how to swing the balance. We only spent 20 minutes together, but started to chart a course of action and agreed to a follow up meeting in a few weeks. I had first seen the Dean at a Women in Communications event in Seattle a couple of months ago. She gets it. She is an example of a powerful woman that not only has achieved great success, but leads both men and women by example. Someone I would very much like to do a lot of mutually beneficial business with.

As the weeks go by, I see more and more of two teams forming. On one side, Death Row companies and professionals. Those that have sealed their own fate by their actions. The second team is the Varsity team. The one that is adapting to the climate and taking opportunity and advantage every day. Seattle, not unlike Vancouver, London, or New York, are filled with people that will waste your time and others that can fill your wallets. Choose wisely who gets a second pass at you. Everyone should get the time of day from you, but only once if they don’t deserve a repeat.

C/