The Mighty Have Fallen
I thoroughly enjoy doing a select number of motivational presentations across a year’s time for corporate clients. I work extremely hard at exceeding their expectations.
This past week I spoke to 3,000 people for NextGen Healthcare Information Systems at Gaylord’s Opryland in Nashville. It was a great crowd in a magnificent, multi-screened venue. The travel from door-to-door was top shelf with first class plane seating and chauffer-driven vehicles awaiting my arrivals and departures. The hotel accommodations were second to none with a suite at my disposal and a bowl of fruit and a bucket of iced bottled water upon my arrival. Plus, dinner reservations were already in place.
I felt like Mick Jagger!
And I believe that I entertained them even better than the wild Englishman.
Now compare that luscious scenario with a gratis talk I recently gave on behalf of Skinny Water to a group of Walgreen regional managers in Ocean City, Maryland. (FYI, I am a major investor in the start-up company as well as the male spokesperson and a member of the Board of Advisors.) I traveled on a prop plane from Philadelphia International Airport packed into five seats with four members of the Skinny team and a dozen cases of Skinny Water. No corporate jet. We were then transported to the 6th floor of the Holiday Inn by a taxi van driven by a retiree who enjoyed his scenery. No custom limousines or brightly-lit stage. And after our engaging hour-long dog-and-pony show, we exited the hotel room and flagged down another taxi van for the return ride to the airport. No scrumptious meal?
Now, wait a minute!
The company chairman, Michael Salaman, was psyched with the success of our meeting and finally agreed to my pleading to stop for something to eat. He said it shouldn’t break his budget. I wanted to break his neck. I was starving! He directed the cab driver to turn into a nearby Wawa food market for a one-course meal – a Wawa sandwich and chips!
I, kiddingly, said to Michael as we were re-entering the prop plane, “How far the mighty have fallen.” He laughed. But in truth, I was quite proud of the Skinny team and their budgetary discipline. It reminded me of my early days on the road with my first company Sports Physical Therapists, Inc. A road trip included the bare necessities. No frills. No waste. Rent a car. Double up in a cheap hotel. Cracker Barrel for dinner. Pitch the product. Seal the deal. And celebrate!
We toasted with Skinny Water on the bumpy plane ride home. I wanted vodka in it!
Me and the boys getting onto our prop plane.
This entry was posted
on Friday, November 14th, 2008 at 4:34 pm by Pat Croce
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November 17th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Great point, Pat. Its easy to confuse cheapness with practicality.