Kelly Swanson
3
Why This Book?
I
once met with two men from another country to discuss the idea of collaborating on a project that involved a merging of our brands. I was a little nervous because
I didn’t know them very well. I was worried the meeting might be a scam. Or perhaps they wanted to marry me? Don’t laugh—I’ve received quite a few offers on Facebook. The beginning of our video chat was a little awkward. We sat there looking at each other, waiting to see who would speak first. Me and my big fat southern accent, and two men from Eastern Europe made an awkward combination (You write the jokes).
The last person to enter the call was the owner and founder of the company I was meeting with. He jumped into the conversation by apologizing for being late, and for showing up in a jogging suit. He explained that normally he would be in business attire, but it was his day to pick his children up from school and take them to the park. “Today is my son’s birthday,” he explained, pointing to the birthday banner behind him. In that moment, I became more comfortable. He was a dad. He had kids. He took them to the park. That was enough for me to see that he wasn’t so different from me. And we were off.
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