In a recent article, Jonathan Bush, CEO and Co-founder at athenahealth explains why you should always be ready for lady luck.
when I think about #AdviceThatSticks, Bill Donaldson comes to mind. Bill Donaldson is famous. He served as chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange, CEO of Aetna, was dean and professor of management studies at Yale. This is a mere sampling of the successes that grace his resume. But notably for me, he was a college buddy of my dad's, which presented the highly-unique privilege and opportunity of gaining face-time with Bill during a particularly important time in my life: when I was a budding entrepreneur and looking to share my idea, my vision, and of course to ask for money.
It was the late '90s when I approached Bill to support by dream of building a national women's health birthing clinic. I remember it vividly how I passionately extoled the virtues of episodic risk on maternity care, celebrated how women can be pregnant and not be sick and that a health forward, positive, feminine experience of maternity care would not only generate great joy, but great savings and in return, great profit for anyone who was part of the team who could bring it all to life. Donaldson listened, giving me lots of delicious, encouraging eye contact.
And then, he said "Johnny, I'm not going to invest in your women's' health company," – he referenced certain restrictions due to his position which wouldn't make it possible. He went on to tell me that he didn't believe my idea would work, but in lieu of giving the financial support (let alone the overall confidence from him that I was so desperate for), he wanted to offer advice, if I'd be open to it. I gritted my teeth, swallowed hard, clenched my hands – I was crying and screaming on the inside, running to my car already – I said, "Oh... thank you, Bill. I'd love your advice." He said "Johnny, while your business probably won't work, continue to go after it with all the passion you've shown me here today, that way when lady luck knocks with another way of using all of your work, you'll open the door." At which point, he opened the door...and showed me out.