WISE WORDS

I met Joe Fernandez 20 years ago, almost to the date, when he transferred to Asia from New York as Supremo of the Human Resources function at Citicorp ... the 'all things to all people money center bank' in those days. How times can change. We met on the business turf but Joe & Sally have quickly become close family friends. 'Uncle Joe' as he is affectionately called has been my mentor over the years, in professional as well as personal terms. He has the unique ability to always put things in perspective, and I always come away refreshed by his counsel. Joe turned 80, lives in Florence & San Francisco, and celebrated his big birthday with a year long party at all the locations he & Sally have lived, including Hong Kong. The highlight of this chain party was a week long trek on the Italian Alps, which I did not have the physical courage to partake.

As you can see from my last blog I was frustrated by the Eclair episode, which really is a classic 'storm in a tea cup' in hind sight. I seeked counsel from Joe, knowing how well he knows me, and knowing he follows my blog. This is his thoughtful and well worded reply.

"Going in you realized the Patisserie section is not your strong suit. It meant that you had the farthest distance to travel to reach the competence for which you are striving. You have made enormous progress that prepares you for the next step. The fact that you were with substantial and select company in not passing this phase should give you the courage for a re-sit. You alluded to the fact that you rebounded from disappointment in business and this is but another version of the same circumstance. You have already analyzed the causes, as you know, and it is only a matter of execution now. It strikes me the answer is not in the books but in your psyche. Relive all the steps you undertook in the preparation, punctuating the explicit moves you made so you can avoid any repetition of errors. I may be wrong, and I do not encourage you to take any unnecessary risks, but I surmise you will not settle for anything but the competence grade. I sit here in Florence and not at your side, but I have an unshakeble confidence in you."

Many thanks Uncle Joe!