In between physical therapy appointments, writing biographies, articles and preparing to move our college kid, I discovered that Shadowing Day was the next morning, and I had failed to come up with some creative opportunity for my son to sit with a veterinarian, a musician, or even a creative video shoot in advertising.
But, it turns out, my son already had it figured out. He was shadowing me– and he had invited a friend to come too. Â Well, maybe it’s time to just how much a stay-at-home working mom does have to juggle in the course of a day.
“OK… but I start early,” I said. “He needs to be here first thing in the morning, because we have groceries to pick up, and you two are coming along to help.
So they did. Dutifully going through the store and helping me choose and buy, and then, unloading and putting everything away, while simultaneously packing the cooler for the college boy.
Honestly, I couldn’t have done it without them. Even without the crutches.
We got done in record time, which was perfect, because we actually did have career-day work to do — and a conference call at 11. Their first task was to read through LinkedIn Profiles of some of the executives who’ve done it right, and those who have done it wrong. Actually, I gave them the
Their first task was to read through LinkedIn Profiles of some of the executives who’ve done it right, and those who have done it wrong. Actually, I gave them the criteria, and asked them to spot who got it right, and which ones got it wrong. Because this generation is so social-media savvy, they quickly caught on to the executives who had made glaring, faux-pas, and which ones just needed a bit of tweaking.
So, we joined the Go To Meeting Conference call, and I introduced the boys before putting us on mute. Then, the interviewer started to ask the executive the critical questions we would use to write his bio.
However, the Senior Vice President on the call couldn’t access the Go To Meeting Video — he could only hear us. We asked him to switch browsers, that maybe he could try Chrome, or IE — and he simply responded with, “I don’t know what browser means… you meal like use Yahoo, or Google?”
With the mute button on, the boys laughed and giggled and realized if this is what corporate America is like, they will have absolutely no trouble finding their way.
They’re probably right.
We listened to the man explain his story, and learned that as a young boy of six, his family was very poor. His mother took in other people’s washing, she cleaned houses, and did whatever she could to put food on the table. She was always very proud, and held her head up high.
“There was only one time I ever saw my mother afraid. That was the day she had to visit Mr. Pemberton, the local banker, to ask for a $200 loan to buy groceries. I had never meant Mr. Pemberton, but I knew that’s who I wanted to be when I grew up.”
And that is how he ended up being a banker.
After the call, I explained that the very first sentence of his bio is the most critical. We have to paint a picture of this man — while at the same time, make it interesting and full of integrity. Can you do that? Can you try to write a sentence that epitomizes what this man is about? write the first sentence for me?
My goal is to train our people to become the trusted adviser for our clients – the kind of trust that compels our customers to pick up the phone and call us when they need help.
I guess the boys decided that that man’s goal is to make it easier to the next mom who needs a loan to buy groceries.
They’re probably right.