The Last

Management meetings generally start with a lot of chit chat. The last one I attended was very interesting. The previous week the reunion tour for The Police had played Wrigley Field. Apparently the seats were filled with people who think that anyone who's anyone was there. I knew the concert was happening at some point, but could not have cared less -- cementing my status as a nobody.

In these management meetings I took the stance that I did not speak until spoken to. Mike, (CEO)* has the philosophy that meetings are formalities, that business really happens behind closed doors. Since most of my business was conducted with him, I was comfortable letting him handle announcements. He's the boss. And no one ever asked me anything, so I sat and listened. The chit chat in this meeting was about The Police concert.

Here's my connection to The Police. In college I had a dear friend who believed that Sting was the physical incarnation of God. Her infatuation went well beyond fandom. Mary was deep into the punk rock scene, traveling to London before to study before legitimate punk had its final seizure. The Police, at that time, were sort of pop punk, but they served as Mary's bridge to grunge. Again, Mary moved to Seattle just as grunge was about to explode. The last I heard of Mary, she was dating the biggest marijuana dealer in the Northwest. But I digress.

The chit chat swirled around popular music, and it became clear that we were dealing with two generations of music listeners. The older generation was quoting Jefferson Airplane, the younger referencing the Violent Femmes and The Police.

Then it hit me. These people were not influenced even remotely by the music that they heard. Anyone who truly got Jefferson Airplane or The Police would not be sitting in a boardroom talking about how to make money off the backs of their clients. I have no idea where Mary is today, but I can guarantee you she's not fighting for control of a floundering sports marketing company.

*Since I no longer need to be concerned about my employment, I no longer need to worry too much about anonymity.