I May not be in a Band, but I am a Rock Star

Recently, I wrote a proposal for an organization that was looking to outsource a leadership development program. It was really no big deal to do; it came together very easily. I found out last week that they wanted to meet with us to discuss our proposal. So, we met with our big boss and he pointed out that there were a few things that we might need to explain further, but overall he thought it was a very nice proposal.

We had to be there Thursday morning at 8:00 a.m., which caused me a little dismay. It's clear across town and much earlier in the day than I care to do business. But I got myself spiffed up and dragged myself there, after a night of very little sleep. When I arrived I was pretty calm, cool and collected. Then the room began to fill up with the upper eschelon.

After we had all introduced ourselves (3 of us, 10 of them), the questions began. And all of a sudden I realized: this is a job interview. We are being interviewed for this outsourcing job! Once I realized this, rather than freaking out, I leaned back in my chair (a sign of confidence in poker) and went with the flow. I was even able to use my outsider status in this industry as an advantage.

When it was over I was absolutely dumsquizzled by my grace under pressure. I went in there and rocked! I've never faced anything that big without first realizing it was that big and without sweating it for weeks in advance. I think I'm hitting my stride professionally. It was my sold out performance at Madison Square Garden.