You Just Never Know

Photo courtesy of North Shore Railroad/Joe Kantz

From Joe Kantz/North Shore Railroad

A few months ago, I received an email that appeared to be an invitation to a meeting at the White House from President Trump’s Administration. My first thought was “this must be a scam.”

The next day, I received a phone call from someone at the White House wanting to make sure I received the email. I assured them I did, and that I was excited to join them for this meeting.

Now, to be clear, I received this email in my role as an elected County Commissioner. The President’s team had invited all the County Commissioners from Pennsylvania to attend. This was my first time to our Nation’s White House, and after a quick tour of this historic “home” we headed to the Eisenhower Building for an all-day meeting. We were introduced to members of various departments of the federal government and met a few more noteworthy folks.

I relay this story – not to brag – but merely to remind us, we never know where the next phone call may come from – or lead us.

Now, on to a business example: I recently played in a golf tournament. I really didn’t feel like playing. I had a lot of work to do in the office and customers to visit, but I committed to play, so I did. While at this particular event, I ran into a man, whom I hadn’t see in seven years. A few weeks later, one of his customers called me. The gentleman told me of a project he and my golf buddy were working on, and how this new project could easily turn into unit trains of business for North Shore Railroad.

Resultant of my visit to the White House, I received contacts for many departments in the federal government who can now be a point of contact for me and my constituents. I had the opportunity to share real life experiences on certain issues that were discussed, and I also had the opportunity to talk to key people in the Administration about items related to railroads.

My visit to Washington, D.C. resulted in good things for my county, and this golf tournament resulted in good things for my company.

So, it is my hope that after reading this, you are encouraged to take that opportunity that may be out of your comfort zone. Your next new contact or customer may come from it. You just never know.