The 9% Edge

CHAPTER 7State of the Union Meeting

No one will care about your bottom line more than you.

I had just stepped off stage from delivering a keynote. Jennifer, my assistant, had everything ready for us to transfer from backstage to the small room where I’d be signing books and meeting some of the audience for the next hour.

As we were walking through the hallway from the big conference room to the small meet-and-greet room, a woman in her mid-30s was walking straight toward us, waving. She had the prettiest red hair and her purple suit jacket made her green eyes pop. I could tell by the lanyard around her neck that she was attending the conference where I had just spoken.

“I did it!” she yelled toward us with a huge smile and both of her arms stretched out wide. Jennifer and I stopped in our tracks. I had no idea what she was referencing, but I knew she was very enthusiastic about doing whatever “it” was.

“Hi! What did you do?” I asked. She was coming toward us fast and closed the distance between us quickly. As she approached, I could tell she was excited, and beyond adorable, which put a huge smile on my face.

“I did the numbers thing you talked about today. I heard you talk about it on one of your podcast episodes and I did it!” she replied.

“Numbers thing – you mean the State of the Union?” I asked for clarification, because I talk about a lot of “numbers things.”

“Yes!” she said excitedly. “I’ve been doing it for four months, every month, just like you said! My husband and ...