Here For the Memories
A thought-provoking audio memoir shorts filled with stories, humor, anecdotes, and commentary on social, cultural, business, and religious issues. Whatever Linden remembers and thinks will entertain, challenge, and inform is a possible subject.
Here For the Memories
That's How You Got Promoted? Seriously?
What if a random encounter could alter the course of your career forever? Join me on "Here for the Memories" as I recount the serendipitous events that transformed my professional journey. It all started in 1999 with an unexpected opportunity from Kelly Services, facilitated by a high school connection, Pamela Vaughn. From managing hazardous workplace accounts to negotiating high-stakes deals with Vanderbilt University, I share the humorous and challenging moments that taught me invaluable lessons. These anecdotes not only highlight my journey but also encourage you to see the potential for growth in your own unexpected encounters.
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Here For the Memories
Here for the memories, thought-provoking audio memoir shorts filled with stories, humor, anecdotes and commentary on social, cultural, business and religious issues. Whatever Lyndon remembers and thinks will entertain, challenge and inform is a possible subject is a possible subject. The collection of memories about one's life allows for the development and refinement of a sense of self, including who one is, how one has changed and what one might be like in the future.
Speaker 2:I'm Lyndon Wolfe, and welcome to my audio memoir here for the Memories. Sometimes people call it a podcast. I'm going to call it an audio memoir because I want to know that people know about my life Not everyone, but those people that I love. So I'm glad you joined and I hope you enjoy this episode of a less aimless career path, because I've shared often about just how aimless my career path has been. It ended well, but it didn't start very well at all. So let's go back to 1999.
Speaker 2:On the cusp of Y2K and Prince, 1999 was a pivotal year for me on so many levels. I was finally getting my legs under me from years of running from God and man, the prodigal was slowly coming to his senses and began to long for home. At the end of that year, my abysmal career would take a turn for the best. I soon would find myself still underemployed, but in a place where I could eventually flourish. Thanks to Pamela Vaughn, a high school acquaintance, and God's provision, I was about to find out my true business talents, and how that exactly happened was quite unanticipated. The first three years I worked for Pamela at Kelly Services, our district grew almost exponentially. Pamela was the territory manager, later vice president and gave me a tremendous amount of leeway. I referred to her as P for Pamela and she referred to me as L for Lyndon, and when you put those together it's P and L Profit loss. Get it Well.
Speaker 2:What ensued for me was the sale of six large strategic accounts, and people at the corporate office in Troy, michigan, began to take notice. One of those large strategic accounts was an unmitigated disaster Words and all here. Let me tell you about it. Soon after signing the deal and deploying our on-site team to manage the account, there was a spate of costly injuries to our workers. Soon it was discovered that this facility had a notoriously wretched injury history that included more than one death. My contact was Rosie, the one-armed human resources manager and the one I sold the program through. I knew she had formerly worked in the plant and on assembly line but was transferred to HR. What I failed to ascertain was that her transfer was due to the loss of her arm on the plant floor. The lesson If the HR manager has lost a limb working for the company, it's probably not a company you want to work with unless you don't hold the safety or health of your workers in high regard. Unless you don't hold the safety or health of your workers in high regard. This was a huge blemish on my record, but a testimony to how I can now answer the interview question. Tell me about the time where you made a terrible mistake.
Speaker 2:It really was, but closing Vanderbilt University and Hospital earned me some very serious recognition, even at the CEO level of this $5 billion global company. As Terrence Adderley, our CEO was a huge benefactor and his wife was on the board of directors. Despite that, there was even an Adderley atrium on campus where a multi-million dollar donation erected a building that bore his name, the adopted son of the original Mr Kelly. He, I believe the original Mr Kelly went to Vanderbilt, actually, and Mr and Mrs Adderley's son also did. However, stranger Kelly Services had never won the Vanderbilt business with this account being so visible.
Speaker 2:There was a tremendous amount of pressure, however, during the process, and I don't know why I ended up being the point person for this negotiation. I wasn't at that kind of level, but I ended up being the one that negotiated the contract and, as I will tell you shortly, it was often tense In the process. I unintentionally called the Vanderbilt buyer's bluff by walking out of one of those very tense negotiation schedules. I told her if it were me I wouldn't sign this deal. I walked to my car head down and I began to mentally update my resume High profile CEO, huge manufacturer, wife on the board. Little Lyndon is trying to close this deal and it's not turning out well. In the midst of my despair my cell phone buzzed and it was Vanderbilt calling to say my last proposal had been accepted and for me to return to the office that I just left to start the finalization of the contract. The range of emotions that transpired in just a few short minutes was extreme. The buyer, lisa Ponton, a Yale-educated attorney, and I ended up good friends.
Speaker 2:How me altered my career would be this section. How me, in quotes with an exclamation. But the deal that changed the trajectory of my career was with a company called Portion Pack, a division of the HJ Hines Corporation. I could go into great detail here. They made the little packets that you get of mustard and ketchup at your McDonald's or any other fast food location. It was a highly visible target for Kelly Global Solutions, our strategic sales organization at our headquarters in Troy, michigan. The team from and these were excellent, sophisticated, talented salespeople from our office there in Michigan had gone to various HJ Hines locations and plants trying to sell each of these deals. They made five or six presentations but they had zero results. I mean, nothing good came out of that. Portion Pack in Nashville, Tennessee, was the last on their list and frustrated with their inability to even win one location on their list and frustrated with their inability to even win one location, that strategic sales team, global Solutions, decided to pass on presenting at that particular site. Instead, they sent Pamela and me certain that we would chalk up another one in the loss column.
Speaker 2:Well, it all came down to us and two of our competitors, both among the largest in the industry. Steve Falter was the buyer for Portion Pack and he dutifully listened to our pitch as we presented every Kelly bell and whistle we could conjure up, and then some probably made some up actually. Finally he couldn't take it any longer and he blurted out all three of you have the same tools and resources. Please tell me one thing Kelly has that they don't. Pamela and I froze and like any good boss, she deferred to me Lyndon, you can take that one. I mumbled sarcastically. Thank you B.
Speaker 2:Desperate and under the gun, I summoned up the poise to sit up, clear my throat, open my mouth and pray that something intelligible and coherent would come out. And this is what came out. Me, it seemed like a year before steve broke the silence, laughed and said sold. Was it genius? No, was it planned? Of course not. It was, however, undeniably intuitive. I felt as if I'd hit the lottery and in a sense, I had news spread that we had closed the deal in nashville when an entire team of suits from corporate had failed multiple times. Before I could tell them what had transpired, I had accepted an offer to move to the Global Solutions team based out of our headquarters there.
Speaker 2:I went to work for SVP Catherine King, someone who saw potential in me even when I didn't, and others like Brian Pauley, poured into me and served as tremendous role models. I spent many years in that particular role. Isn't life strange? And you could probably attest to circumstances in your life where everything seemed to come together, as I often say, something so coincidental.
Speaker 2:It would be too much of a coincidence for it to be actually coincidental. This is a little bit of the mystery and miracle of my journey through my career, and I pray that you've had other or similar wonderful experiences that you can point to and say that was a turning point, that was pivotal, that changed the trajectory of my career and made it meaningful and joyful of my career and made it meaningful and joyful. This has been Lyndon Wolfe and this is here for the Memories. I hope you come back and visit often and I hope you ponder in the meantime and recall wonderful memories of things that your career, your job, companies you work for, that help mold and shape you into the wonderful person that you are for the memories Much appreciated.
