Hello, beautiful people!
July 6, 1981, was a very special day for me. I started my professional career that day – 45 years ago at Pacific Bell, a subsidiary of AT&T. My first job was as a Group Manager in Operator Services.
By choice, I primarily worked the afternoon/evening shift when I had the “in-charge” or “second-in charge” duties. My colleagues with children loved that I was, and still am, a night person. However, every now and then, I would get assigned the 7:00 am to 3:00 pm shift. Usually, I was able to swap it with someone who wanted to and needed to get home early.
In my first job of supervising 30 operators, I learned a lot about teamwork, delivering results through others, serving people, taking risks, and labor relations. The CWA union leaders taught me many lessons early in my leadership journey. We had an outstanding relationship, and I honor CWA workers every Labor Day.
During my 13,088 days at AT&T, I had the pleasure of taking on 15 different jobs. Technical or non technical, line or staff, California, North Carolina, or Texas – I loved every job and every location and learned something valuable in each one. Some lessons were painful and taught me how to trust God when I couldn’t trust people, but I genuinely believe that every experience made me a better leader, and thousands of people helped me to become a better person. While I learned something key and developed specific skills in every job, the most important insight came from my overall career. I learned how important it is to LISTEN to people, LEARN from people, and LOVE people. You’ll read more about the 3Ls of leadership in my new book next year; you can probably imagine that the title will have something to do with people.
So, 45 years later, I am reflecting on the things I’ve learned, friends I’ve made, places I’ve lived, and people who touched me as a result of my employment with AT&T, the Dallas Mavericks, and my own company, Marshalling Resources. I pray that I left every place better than I found it. After all, that’s what a leader is supposed to do: serve the people and leave the place better. I’m not 21 years old any more, but I’m still excited about and grateful for the opportunity to touch lives, marshal the resources, and help people achieve their dreams. It’s all about the people!