I was the surprise guest speaker at a meeting of the top fifty CEOs in the United States.
It was a surprise for two reasons. First I was having lunch in the Bois
de Boulogne Park in Paris when a friend Gifford Pinchot asked me to
talk to the group he was teaching upstairs from the restaurant. Lunch
in Paris turned into a talk with the top CEOs and some future business.
Second, by the time of the lunch, over more than a decade, I had become a prominent advocate of openness in business but the 50 CEO's had read about my exploits as a bank vice president as described in a whole chapter of Gifford's book Intrapreneuring. My exploits, which significantly changed the credit card world and banking, were mostly based on sophisticated manipulation of top management.
I explained that I was now a firm advocate of openness in business. I had an audience revolt on my hands. They wanted to know how I had so successfully manipulated management.
They had good reason to want me to talk about my old self. They wanted to immunize themselves.
Second, by the time of the lunch, over more than a decade, I had become a prominent advocate of openness in business but the 50 CEO's had read about my exploits as a bank vice president as described in a whole chapter of Gifford's book Intrapreneuring. My exploits, which significantly changed the credit card world and banking, were mostly based on sophisticated manipulation of top management.
I explained that I was now a firm advocate of openness in business. I had an audience revolt on my hands. They wanted to know how I had so successfully manipulated management.
They had good reason to want me to talk about my old self. They wanted to immunize themselves.