From The Sidelines

I got a call from my "Uncle Joe" today (he was the university relations guy I was in contact with while I was a scholarship/intern with the company during college). I'd emailed him last week to see if he could help my friend get another job, and he was calling me back to get the scoop on my friend's situation. After giving him the low down, he agreed to shop my friend's resume around to his contacts. This was good news since my "Uncle Joe" owns his own people resource business & is well connected (he retired from the company I work for as a high level HR executive many years ago).

After we finished catching up, I asked him if he knew Wonder Woman (she retired from the company 6 years ago and was the VP of ES&H at the time). He told me he did and asked why. I told him I've been hearing her name over and over again from environmental folks, especially those who know I want to retire as the VP of ES&H for this company in 20 years. He shared that she took a package back in 2000, retired very rich, bought a house in CA, didn't like it, and has just recently moved back to the town in which our corporate headquarters is located. Then I put it out there.

"I want to meet her," I boldly said.

"I can make that happen," he replied. "Give me a heads up when you're in town again and I'll set up a meeting."

I said I would. My plan is to ask her to be my mentor as I manuever through this corporate minefield to that vice presidency I just know I was born to have. I'm pulling a move I'm not sure has been played before. I'm pulling my most important coach from the sidelines, and I hope it's like asking Jordan to lend his skills to the game and make an unknown player into a superstar.