1. My mother was a Nun (before she met my father and chose to leave the convent)
2. I sold cleaning products door to door when I was 9 years old.  I didn’t make much money but I got to know the neighborhood pretty well.  (Which paid off later when I started mowing their lawns the following year.)
3. One of my junior high school classmates was the voice of “Lucy” in the Charlie Brown cartoons.

My service in the U.S Air Force was very exciting and afforded me lots of travel to interesting locations.  I’d have to list that right up with meeting my wife and watching my daughter grow up.

That’s a hard one; lots of good ones come to mind.  I guess I’d say the vacation trip our family (all 7 of us) took in 1971 to the mountains.  I was 10 at the time, learned to fish, did a lot of boating, hung out with my siblings and just had a good time.

I would definitely love to have a conversation with Lao Tsu.  (Author of the Tao Te Ching)

Giving the eulogy at my mother’s funeral.

Photography, Food, Wine (not necessarily in that order)

I’m currently reading a pretty varied selection of books including “Meatball Sundae” by Seth Godin, “The Audacity of Hope” by Barack Obama, and the “Speed of Trust” by Stephen MR Covey.  What’s my favorite book?  I’d have to say it’s a toss up between “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” by Hunter S. Thompson and “Speaker For The Dead” by Orson Scott Card.

I’d like to visit the Louvre, travel to South America (In particular, Costa Rica and Peru) and to drive (during the summer and in a convertible) from Chicago to Los Angeles along Route 66.

I’d give it all to the Colfax Community Network here in Denver, CO.  Many families living in poverty in the Denver area are forced to live in motels as a temporary solution to homelessness. While motels provide immediate shelter, the high cost of motel rent and the inability to secure the necessary funds for permanent housing often hold families in the “motel trap.” This is a crying shame and I certainly plan to do something about it.

1. Writing books and speaking publicly about effective client engagement and customer service.
2. Donating my time to fight poverty and improve education in this country and around the world.
3. Working to promote a unified understanding of our place on this planet and fighting bigotry, bias, and hatred.
4. Taking pictures.

I have worked for the large commercial firms and large government agencies for most of my adult working life and started to realize that (for me) the thrill of defining, launching, managing, and finishing any project endeavor eventually wore off.

I always liked the “type” of work but I needed more variety in terms of industry sector, project subject, and how my work impacted people in general.  I love learning about different industries, technologies, communities, and people and by consulting I get the opportunity to do just that. 

This variety is what keeps me interested and energized.

• Always be prepared, always have a plan, and remember to trust “the data”.  With that said however, you should be ready to adjust your plan to fit your customer’s needs, their particular situation, and your specific strengths.

• Never assume that you know what your customer wants and what they need.  Take the time to really understand what your customer is trying to tell you about not only what drives their business but also what drives “them”.

• Building this trust with your customer “earns” you the opportunity to deliver results for them. 

• Constantly ask yourself:
  
  • “Do my customers feel that I’m really listening to them?”
  • “How do I demonstrate to them (both verbally and in writing) that I “get” what they are trying to tell me?”
• One more thing; never show up to a client meeting without paper and pen....