At the office in Los Angeles. Richard was in town for a Trust Barometer event, and he met earlier in the day with employees. I was on a call and arrived a bit late, sitting in the back of the kitchen by the vending machines. I didn't mind, however, as my seat was more comfortable than the desk and glass partition that passes for my office. Richard was very personable and connected well with the staff, but before I could ask a question or meet him, I had to run off to another meeting. By the time I was done Richard was long gone. Was he really there, I wondered? Or was this just a dream induced by the handful of Red Vines I had for lunch?
At a Senior Management Meeting. I was brought in to help facilitate a workshop, which was not onlya great assignment from a visibility perspective, but it also afforded theopportunity to meet and work with the likes of Steve Rubel, Michael Wiley, RickMurray and Phil Gomes.Before we began the workshops, each facilitator stood infront of the room and introduced themselves. Richard was in the first rowcenter - here was my chance, I thought. This time he would hear my name and wewould say hello, maybe kick back later at the bar and discuss the future of PR.But alas, it again wasn't meant to be for Richard and me. After theintroductions I looked around and Richard was gone - how could he leave a roomso fast? Was he really there in the front row, or was that just a hologram?Maybe that wasn't Richard at all, but a decoy - a bodyguard who looks just likeRichard, so the real Richard Edelman can walk among the people and learn theirways. You know, like Queen Amidala did in The Phantom Menace, only without thatannoying Jar Jar Binks.In New York. I was at the Javitz Convention Centerfor the New York Auto Show. It was a busy day and I had to leave in theafternoon to catch a flight to Chicago.My flight time meant I needed to leave for JFK around 3 PM - the same timeRichard was due to stop by the show. It was going to be close, but how longdoes a handshake need to take, really? This was my best chance yet and I wasn'tgoing to blow it.I didn't count on the rain, however. Rain in New York makes twothings disappear: Civility and taxis. I didn't care about the former, but thelatter meant I need to leave before 3 PM if I hoped to get a ride to JFK andmake it through traffic in time.So I left without seeing Richard. And to make matters worse,when I got to the airport I discovered my flight was going to be delayed atleast two hours (jetBlue, what's happened to you?) Not only could I have stayed at the auto showand met Richard, we could have hung out. We could have met as colleagues andleft as old friends.
Maybe it's just not meant to be. After four months I still can't even get my blog feed put on the Edelman blog landing page, so what makes me think I'm worthy enough to meet the CEO?
Nevertheless, I'm sure we will meet one day, someway. But until then I will keep hoping and praying that when we do finally meetit goes well. After all, I love my job - and if keeping it means never meetingRichard Edelman, then well, I guess I'm okay with that.
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