Funeral for a Friend

I try to keep the posts in this space light, or at least not dark, partly because I think the world is depressing enough already, and partly because if I start taking this blog too seriously it's not going to be fun anymore, for you or me. That said, I'm still going to mark the passing, three weeks ago, of an old friend who could teach most of us a few lessons worth learning, not least of which would be the importance of lateral thinking. Heaven knows, he taught me a few...

Paul Robin was the only MSU graduate I knew well before coming to East Lansing, and in fact had been a graduate of the undergraduate business program here, in the historic (and still elite) hospitality management program, despite never having been admitted to the business school. Paul had simply decided that the classes in the business school interested him, and had "hacked" his way into the program, not in the usual sense of computer intrusion, but in the time-tested method of waiting until just before the deadline to add classes for each semester and then requesting that the instructor add him to the class list. He would then drop the classes he was actually supposed to be in...

When the Administration finally caught up with him they were not pleased to learn that Paul had outwitted the system without resort to any sort of computer chicanery, fraud or perjury -- without actually doing anything wrong, in fact. Paul was most of the way through the degree program by then, so they decided to let him stay, on the condition that he could find a division that would officially enroll him -- which is how he wound up with a degree in Advertising; it seems that the applicable Dean liked his style, or at least his gift for thinking outside the box...

When I think of all of the people I've met who manage to talk themselves out of what they really want to do; who come up with all sorts of rules and regulations, of expectations and propriety and even scruples that will keep them from seeking the path they really want to be on, I can't help thinking of what a shame it is that more people never got to meet my old friend and swap a few tall stories. And, of course, how fortunate I am to have had that chance...

People, listen to me: it's never the reasons why not that matter; it's always the reasons why that are important. As a management scientist and a strategy scholar, I can tell you for a certainty that there will always be reasons why you shouldn't do something, and there will always be ways to make it happen if you really want to -- and if you're willing to try. The most important challenge will always be "How badly do you want it?" and if the answer is "Not badly enough" then the failure is yours, not that of the system. They may just be words on a computer screen, but you'd do well to consider them the next time you have a strategic crisis to think your way out of -- or a life choice to make...

So I'll ask all of you to join me in taking a moment to remember Paul S. Robin, American Businessman, Musician, Inventor, Marksman, Hunter, Net Warrior, Scholar and Philosopher. Here's to you, Paul, wherever you are...