But for them, the rest of us could not succeed.
Mark Twain
Keith, a consulting company sales representative, was frustrated. "Mr. Raymond, all three had great credentials to be your national sales manager. I don't understand."
"What the hell's the matter with you, Keith?" exclaimed the president of the men's clothing distributor. "I'm not talking about credentials! We sell the finest men's suits in America, and my sales manager has to look like it. One guy you sent me was 50 pounds overweight. The other had buttons missing. And the woman, for Christ's sake, she was wearing an evening gown at 8 o'clock in the morning. Sure I want credentials, but my sales manager has to look sharp!"
"Yes, sir," replied Keith.
"Good. Now listen. Friday I'll be at the Airport Marriott. There's a conference break at ten. Find me a national sales manager, and bring him to my suite at exactly 10 o'clock. I don't care if it's a man or a woman, but I want to see somebody with The Look, understand?"
After three frantic days interviewing people, Keith was about to give up and cancel when he found William: tall, good looking and impeccably dressed, 15 years selling men's clothing, five in management. All right He arranged for them to meet at Mr. Raymond's suite on Friday.
Keith arrived at 9:50 and found Mr. Raymond already there. "Conference broke early. Where's your boy?"
"He'll be here," Keith assured his client. They talked about wrapping up the search that day, and Keith was already spending the consulting fee. They drank coffee as 10 o'clock came and went. Then 10:10. The phone rang and Mr. Raymond answered it. "It's for you."
Keith's stomach sank. It was William. "I made a wrong turn coming in. I'm in the lobby of the Holiday Inn, and I can see the Marriott from here. It can't be two hundred yards away, but I can't find the right road to get there."
"Okay, look, don't take your car. There's a short way. Go out the front entrance and walk along the service road to your left. It winds around a little, but you'll be here in five minutes."
"No problem," Keith told Mr. Raymond. "He took a wrong turn coming into the airport. He'll be here in five minutes."
Mr. Raymond glanced at his watch and said nothing. Fifteen minutes later, he grumbled "This is ridiculous. I've got to get back," and got up to leave.
Just then, a knock at the door. "There he is," Keith pleaded. "Please take a few minutes to speak to him. I am telling you, your job search is over. You won't find anyone else with a look like his."
Keith opened the door wide, and there stood William. Mr. Raymond never had seen anyone look like that. He just stared.
Shoes and trousers up to the knees were soaked and covered in mud, grass stains on his elbows, hair in his face, dripping sweat. A leather attached case leaked on the carpet.
With a smile, William stepped into the room. "Good morning. I know this is an unusual request at an interview, but do you possibly have a towel I could borrow?"
Curiosity got the better of him, and Mr. Raymond stayed to find out what happened. William dried off and told his story.
"Well, I went out the front entrance and saw a dirt path through the tall grass over toward the Marriott. It looked faster than the road, so I took it. The grass got taller and the ground got spongy and the mosquitoes were biting. I was about to turn back when I slipped and slid down a bank into a ditch half full of muddy water. I couldn't even see the Holiday Inn anymore, but I could see the Marriott so I kept going. And I made it.
Here I am."
Without a word, Mr. Raymond got up and left, closing the door with more force than necessary.
Puzzled, William looked at Keith and asked, "Does that mean I don't get the job?"
A suite thing seldom is and the short way often isn't. Verify directions and destination, and plan enough time to arrive at the interview a few minutes early.
