I really believe that to be true. The concept of interviewing 25 or 30 people, having them share their stories and compiling those tales into a single book has crossed my mind more than once. Most people are willing to share theirs if you simply ask.
Recently that concept smacked me right in the face (well, not in a violent way).
You don’t have to be around Downtown Roanoke too long before you cross paths with a wide variety of people. Pretty soon you’re seeing the same people. Generally the next step is to make snap judgments – let’s be honest about that. It’s what we tend to do.
There is a handsome – nattily attired gentleman in his early 50’s with whom I have frequently exchanged pleasantries. A “hello” one day or a wave the next – always a friendly acknowledgment of some sort is shared. A few months back we were introduced and this winter we actually met for business purposes. Now we are acquainted and I know his name and a bit more about his story.
In fact, he jumped right in and told me how his signature style was established.
Barely past hello, this sharp dressed man sat in my office and proceeded to tell me about how, as a high school kid in the Northeast, he needed a job and quickly landed a position as a janitor. He worked his way through high school and took a similar position in Maryland while he was in college. An athlete in school, he had to come up with his own way to get some spending money. So he continued doing what he knew. During his college years he cleaned for a real estate developer named Jim Rouse. Mr. Rouse invited this young college kid to a big business meeting.
He told him to wear a suit, pay close attention, and told him not to say a word.
This went on for a while before the young lad – now a college senior – got up the nerve to approach Mr. Rouse about helping him start a cleaning business of his own. The request was made and the college senior was told to wear a suit during the day and clean offices at night. That’s how he did it.
Now thirty some years later one of the best dressed men in Roanoke is really a janitor (and a whole lot more). His company was a finalist for the Roanoke Chamber Small Business of the Year. I’d falsely assumed he wore a suit every day to stand with an even more impressive figure than those around him. Instead what I learned was that Kevin Devine – who cleans most of Downtown Roanoke and has started a number of other businesses as well – really wears that suit because of a promise he made to a business mentor over three decades ago.
It’s a promise kept and a reminder for us. We’re wiser if we don’t judge someone by what we see.
Wait instead until you actually hear their story.
– Bruce Bryan
B2C Enterprises
www.b2centerprises.com/
