I know I have said several times in these books that luck can play an important part in your life. Rest assured that luck is one factor and one factor alone but there are many other factors that are important to your success in life.
Probably the best job I had in my young business career was as the Director of Techinal Assistance for Brockway Glass … It was the position I held for the longest time in my career … and I got it because I was in the right place at the right time.
I had a position as the Director of Training for Brockway and I taught Management Principles to Manufacturing Supervisors in all 13 Brockway Plants in the United States. I visited every plant every month for a year … I was only home 3 days per month including weekends. I didn’t mind as I was single then and enjoyed the traveling and meeting all the new people.
Each month when I returned to Brockway I would meet with the Director of Personnel and brief him on what I saw in my travels to the plants.
During one such meeting, in the last month of my worldwind training program, he took a call from the Chairman and CEO of the company … I was only hearing one side of the call but later he reconstructed the conversation for me.
Brockway had superior glass-making techonology than any other companies in the world and wanted to take advantage of this by selling technology to other glass companies in other countries … since glass weighs too much to have any importing or exporting it was a good business fit.
The International Techinal Services Department was a one-man show and that one person had major health problems and was not expected to return for a long time, if ever.
It was the company’s intention to grow this business segment since it had the potential to be a very profitable business segment for the company.
Because I had moved around in the company more than most people and had worked in Industrial Engineering, Training and Management Information Systems [MIS], I probably knew more people in the company than any one else.
The CEO was looking for a person that had a technical background, personable, could sell the company and knew where to go in the company to get the help he needed … He had to be ready to move into the position NOW.
The Director of Personnell was sitting behind his desk looking at me and said “I have someone in mind let me get right back to you.”
Within a week I was in my new job. I grew the Division into a very profitable business with 10 employees.
Probably the best job I had in my young business career was as the Director of Techinal Assistance for Brockway Glass … It was the position I held for the longest time in my career … and I got it because I was in the right place at the right time.
I had a position as the Director of Training for Brockway and I taught Management Principles to Manufacturing Supervisors in all 13 Brockway Plants in the United States. I visited every plant every month for a year … I was only home 3 days per month including weekends. I didn’t mind as I was single then and enjoyed the traveling and meeting all the new people.
Each month when I returned to Brockway I would meet with the Director of Personnel and brief him on what I saw in my travels to the plants.
During one such meeting, in the last month of my worldwind training program, he took a call from the Chairman and CEO of the company … I was only hearing one side of the call but later he reconstructed the conversation for me.
Brockway had superior glass-making techonology than any other companies in the world and wanted to take advantage of this by selling technology to other glass companies in other countries … since glass weighs too much to have any importing or exporting it was a good business fit.
The International Techinal Services Department was a one-man show and that one person had major health problems and was not expected to return for a long time, if ever.
It was the company’s intention to grow this business segment since it had the potential to be a very profitable business segment for the company.
Because I had moved around in the company more than most people and had worked in Industrial Engineering, Training and Management Information Systems [MIS], I probably knew more people in the company than any one else.
The CEO was looking for a person that had a technical background, personable, could sell the company and knew where to go in the company to get the help he needed … He had to be ready to move into the position NOW.
The Director of Personnell was sitting behind his desk looking at me and said “I have someone in mind let me get right back to you.”
Within a week I was in my new job. I grew the Division into a very profitable business with 10 employees.
I had the qualifications and was a good pick for the job but would he have thought of me if I hadn’t been in the right place at the right time?
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