When I'm traveling out of town, I meet a lot of people. I always look for a relational connection to make me appear more personal (I know, you think that I'm already personal, but when you work for a finance company, there are preconceptions that people have about you).
A few months ago, I met an older gentleman who told me his son was now living in Cincinnati. Not only that, but he was the CEO of an influential company doing some great work in the city. I made a note of it and wrote an email to the man. It was pretty basic, along the lines of "hey, I met your father and we started talking about you. Nice guy. Thanks for making our city a better place."
When I write messages like this, I view it like a volleyball set. I'm was giving this guy the opportunity to speak well about his dad. His email reply was brief. He simply wrote.
"Steve, Thanks for introducing yourself. I love leading this company."
Not a mention of his dad. Not even an acknowledgment.
It made me sad. The father obviously helped raise an incredibly successful son but there was apparently a disconnect in the relationship the created tension.
There’s no real point to this story except that I use these moments to ask myself what values I’m translating to my kid. I keep striving to be a better dad.