Persistence

"Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

-- Calvin Coolidge

" Keep pluggin' "

-- Larry Kelly

I have a plaque of the first quote hanging in my office. The second quote was rendered by my dad at the end of just about every phone conversation we ever had when I was in college. They both speak to the same thing (although my dad really knew how to get to the point -- much easier to remember too!)

Persistence. Perseverance. Hanging in there, again all odds...or just again the frustration or boredom that inevitably sets in after you've been at something for a while. It can end up robbing you of the very thing you're striving for, and in a way that almost seems unfair. "I'm working so hard, and for what?" you might think. Once that thinking starts taking over, you're fighting an uphill battle.

Fast forward to a little after 5:30pm today. As I was leaving a building on our Palm Bay campus, I pulled out my trusty CrackBlackberry to see what I'd been missing all afternoon. There was a message from George, my boss. "Tried to stop by your office, then I called and couldn't reach you. So I reverted to Plan C -- email. Congratulations! You made it (and just in the nick of time!) Great work!" was the gist of his message.

The "just in the nick of time" was a reference to the Harris Fiscal Year, which ends tomorrow. The "congratulations, you made it" meant that I had officially maxed out my incentive bonus for the year -- with one entire day to spare!

Now I'm new to the sales and marketing arena, and the corporate world in general. In the government world, the fiscal year ends on September 30th and the big rush then is to make sure you have spent all your money. So the mind-set change is significant.

But my general approach, and this is where persistence comes in, has been the same. Throughout my government career, I never worried excessively about when my next promotion would come. Sure, I thought about the topic occasionally and I was generally aware of the process and when it happened every year. But some people were absolutely obsessed...knowing exactly what days were key, and wondering when the announcements would be made, and if they were late "what does that mean?" -- that kind of stuff.

My approach was always to work hard, do the best job I possibly good, in the most ethical way possible, while treating people how I wanted to be treated. Then, I figured, things would work out the way they should. Some people may think that's kind of naive -- I never took a job solely because it would help me get promoted for example -- but I think it worked out OK for me over a 20+ year career.

I guess I didn't know any other way when I came to work for Harris last Fall. George briefed me on the incentive plan that would now be a key part of my compensation. "A bonus," I thought, "that would be nice." I played with the numbers once in a while to see what I might have a shot at, but toward the end it looked like my payout would be minimal because of customer delays that were out of my control. It was a little disappointing, but I figured I would just have a big year next year. We're in Florida, I have a really good job, and a great family. Those are the important things.

Well some of the delays cleared up, the stars aligned, and we officially won a big enough job just in time to boost me over the top. It was a great feeling...not just because of the money (which is definitely nice, don't get me wrong!) but also because I had kept pluggin'...

Thanks Dad!

Dear Mom

Dear Mom,

Hi…hope you are doing well. Just wanted to catch you up on what’s happened since we last saw each other.

I almost don’t know where to begin. I guess from the beginning, huh? Well the first couple of years were fairly uneventful. My career continued to go well. Fresh off my promotion to GS-15, I finally left the Washington Navy Yard and took a job in Reston. Once I figured out I wasn’t going back, I started shopping for a place to live in that area. Dad helped me look around, and I ended up buying a brand-new townhouse in Herndon. Since the market was down at the time, I ended up renting out my Springfield condo. I was fortunate to find a quite, reliable tenant who lived there until I sold the place a few years later.

In my almost 4 years working in Reston, I traveled overseas a few times. That was pretty cool! I went to England, Austria, and Japan in 2000 and 2001. Exploring the different countries and experiencing their cultures was awesome.

Soon after returning from Japan in early 2000, I got together for a semi-regular dinner at the home of Tom and Kellie Killick. You remember Kellie – Becky’s best friend. When they moved to Virginia, they kinda took me under their wing a bit…and I returned the favor by almost eating them out of house and home! You know, just like I did to you and Dad growing up!

So I was over their house one night (probably enjoying some delicious pork tenderloin), and Tom mentioned, for what seemed like the hundredth time, this “really nice girl” and how he should set up a meeting between us. “She’s Catholic, Irish, loves to cook, and drinks” (not necessarily in that order). I was finally tired of hearing the talk, so I forced the issue. “Look…set up a meeting, give me her phone number, something, anything! Or stop talking about her,” were my approximate words.

Well either to get me off his back, or because he really thought we would be good for each other (I prefer to assume the latter) he set up a Happy Hour meeting at the Rio Grande Café in Reston on Monday, June 12, 2000. That turned out to be one of the few days that would change my life. It was just the four of us…Tom, Kellie, me, and Cindy McDonald – Tom’s boss’s daughter. (Now I understood why he was a little hesitant about introducing us. His career hung in the balance! But to his credit, he did it anyway.)

We really hit it off that night, and when Tom and Kellie left I think Cindy and I hung around for another couple of hours. Just talking about life, our families, and stuff. A lot about our families. That was a good thing.

We started dating, with our first dinner out at a place called Sweetwater Tavern. To this day, it’s still our place even though the closest one is almost 900 miles away. Fourth of July rolled around a couple of weeks after that, and I met Cindy’s sister Lori and her future husband Lou that day. Soon after, I met her sister Kellie and her parents Gene and Diana. I finally met bro Michael on Thanksgiving weekend. Although I already knew I was in love with Cindy, it was that weekend when I spent a lot of time with her immediate and extended family that I realized I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Mom, you know how huge family is to me…to us…and all of Cindy’s family are just like my own. And it’s pretty much always been like that. They are really great, warm, caring people. I know you would love them more than anything.

I proposed to Cindy on December 27, 2000 (at Terry’s apartment) and we were married in October of the following year. I know you’re probably surprised that your quiet, methodical, deliberate son with the thought process of an engineer moved so quickly on this most important of decisions. All I can say is that when you know it’s so right, decisions are easy. I remember feeling a tremendous sense of calm and confidence during that time in my life. I’m sure you were looking over my shoulder, and whispering in my ear. That would explain it!

In 2002, we moved from Herndon to a real, grown-up house in South Riding near Dulles Airport. One of the big reasons we bought there was the young family atmosphere of the neighborhood when we drove through. We were not disappointed. It was a great place to raise a family.

Speaking of which, our first child was conceived on your birthday in 2002. I will always remember vividly the day we found out, Cindy bringing the pregnancy test stick to me with a big grin and tears rolling down her cheek. We were having a baby! Even though I was 38 at the time I felt like any soon-to-be new Dad, whether 20-something or Tony Randall (he was 79 when his wife had a baby – not sure if you got that news up there).

Brian Lawrence Kelly came into the world on the morning of July 17, 2003. That’s right – on Dad’s birthday. We actually changed his middle name because of that. It was going to be Benjamin until the night before when we were driving to the hospital.

I don’t need to tell you about the joy that both Cindy and I felt that day. There is nothing quite like holding your child for the first time. I know we always tried to trick you by asking if you remember when our birthdays were, or what the happiest days of your life were. I think part of the reason I asked was just to hear you give the answer. Now I truly know what you were feeling, on those days and every time afterward that you had the pleasure of recalling those days.

We have been extremely blessed to have two more precious boys. Sean Eugene Kelly was born on October 14, 2004. He takes after his Grampa McDonald in name (middle) and very much in the looks department. While Brian is definitely a Mini-Me, Sean is the spitting image of his grampa. Colin Andrew Kelly was born on December 2, 2006. He is my little man; I call him Col-Kel. It fits.

What else? Oh yeah…I left the CIA last September after a 20+ year career and took a job with Harris Corporation. My old boss presented me with a Career Intelligence Medal on my departure. I wish you could’ve been there to see it. (I know…you were there. You know what I mean!)

So why would I leave behind a rewarding, promising career with the Agency for the unknown world of corporate America? The answer can be traced back to 2005 when Cindy and I, Brian, and Sean were visiting everyone in South Florida. Due to the distance, it was a trip we could only arrange to make once a year at most. We were watching all the cousins play one day, and I got to thinking about how at the end of my government career (when we planned to move to Florida) several of the cousins would be grown and out of the house. We started thinking about moving down earlier than 2020, and things all lined up last spring/summer. I had a contact at Harris from one of my government assignments, he got my resume to the right people, and I landed a job with them at one of their Melbourne, FL locations.

We moved down here in September 2007, our new house was finished in December, and we are finally settled in (although Cindy opened a couple more moving boxes just yesterday). We love it down here! Cindy’s parents and Lori and Lou (and Kelsey) are close by – about an hour drive. Dad, Rich, and Terry and families are about 3 hours away. Even John in Panama City is reachable in about a half-day of driving.

I know you were always concerned about how my life would turn out. I’m sure I caused you some sleepless nights and constant worrying that I would find the “right one” and settle down. All I can say is that I trust you are not worrying any more! I did wander around aimlessly for a number of years, but it was all part of His plan. Easy to say now, huh?! But the wait was worth every minute. I am blessed to have a fantastic, beautiful, devoted partner who is the best mother to Brian, Sean, and Colin that I could possibly ask for. She has a tremendous passion for those boys, and for her faith – which is one of the many reasons I am in love with her forever.

So I did OK, Mom. I just wish you were with us to experience the joy that you worked so hard toward all your life. You would just love these boys. Brian is the cerebral thinker, Sean is the expressive sensitive one, and Colin…well, he’s just Colin. When he comes waddling to me at the end of a long workday, any worries I had when I walked through the door just melt away.

I miss you terribly Mom. I will always cherish the final moments we spent together 10 years ago tonight. I love you!

Love,
Chris

The Value of Engineers

This is one of my all-time favorites...

There was an engineer who had an exceptional gift for fixing all things mechanical. After serving his company loyally for over 30 years, he happily retired. Several years later his company contacted him regarding a seemingly impossible problem they were having with one of their multi-million dollar machines. They had tried everything and everyone else to get the machine fixed, but to no avail. In desperation, they called on the retired engineer who had solved so many of their problems in the past.

The engineer reluctantly took the challenge. He spent a day studying the huge machine. At the end of the day he marked an "x" in chalk on a particular component of the machine and proudly stated, "This is where your problem is." The part was replaced and the machine worked perfectly again.

The company received a bill for $50,000 from the engineer for his services. They demanded an itemized accounting of his charges. The engineer responded briefly:

One chalk mark..................$1

Knowing where to put it.........$49,999

It was paid in full and the engineer retired in peace.