Energy Leadership, 2nd Edition

14One Step Back, Two Steps Forward

Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.

—John D. Rockefeller, business magnate and philanthropist

Over the next year, Richard kept in touch. It was always nice to hear from him, and since his texts arrived infrequently and were very superficial, I took the lack of contact as a sign that things were going quite well.

So when I received a text asking me to meet him for coffee the following week, I knew it wasn't because he missed me. I arrived first and sat down in one of the more private tables. As I waited, I was flooded with many memories of sessions, along with the tough conversations that lead to breakthroughs. I loved all my clients, I really did, but I have to be honest, Richard was someone quite unique. I saw a lot of myself in him and learned so much from him, and I was very much looking forward to our getting together. I felt optimistic that whatever it was that he needed, we were a great partnership and could tackle just about anything.

I stood as Richard arrived, giving him a big hug. “Great to see you, my friend. How are you?”

“Overall, very well. Things are great in my personal life. Businesswise, we're now at 40 team members altogether, with six people under Don in the sales department. The energy in the company is vastly higher and for the most part, it's pretty calm on a day-to-day basis.” He laughed, adding, “No more screaming matches in the hallways. Business is steady, though we seem to have plateaued – ...