a natural talent.

My wife and I were talking today about a project I am working on for a grocery store chain while I was buying groceries of all things and we were talking about what they did before people who were trained in all these techniques of marketing and consumer behavior. I told her that, you know there are just people, school or not, that have a talent for those type of things. I would like to think of my self as one of those people who has a natural talent for it, (if only it was true). But then I got to thinking today as I was reviewing a case study written at Harvard a couple years back about Vans' Shoes. In the mid 90's Vans' had done all but completely driven themselves in to the depths of bankruptcy almost to the point of no return. The case study discussed a marketing and decision making turn around that changed the company. They implemented new strategy and new directions that brought the company out of bankruptcy and obscurity to be the giant it is today.

I thought to myself, you know one day I will be in a position to advise a large company of new strategy that can either drive them further into financial disarray or be successful. Am I ready? Am I ready for the responsibility that will one day be heaped on me. Sure, there's my career, but what about my family? Church? Community? It's a sobering thought...one that will hopefully take more action and less worry.