Sep 4 2008

The Book That Launched My Passion for HPT and My Career

Let me name drop…the name of one of my long-long-time heros/gurus…

I was exchanging some emails with Bob Mager (Dr. Robert F. Mager) earlier this morning and then again this evening. BTW- He is fine! He was publishing a new book when we last exchanged emails back in April-May.

We were chatting back and forth in text about ISPI (the election cycle is coming up and I have been in a recruiting mode and workin’ the network) and I mentioned that I was looking for videos to upload to Google Video – to add to that collection that has been started that we chatted about in April/May – and I wrote, to thank him and not to suck up to him:

“Did I ever tell you that the first book I read out of college and in my new job in the training organization for Wickes Lumber (Saginaw) in August 1979 was: Analyzing Performance Problems?”

…and…

“When I was done (in one day) I ordered 4 copies for my closest college friends – as I felt I had found gold! I have about 4 copies around the house – and a 5th one of them was signed by you at the 1980 conference in Dallas. Alas – that one walked off about 15 years ago.”

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Now the reason I have 4 copies of that is that my firms have in the past almost always bought dozens of the “Mager Six Pack” every year to share with our clients.

And after someone walked off with my signed copy I replaced it – and whenever I came across another loose copy I grabbed it to see if it was “the one!”

So I guess I forgot to return that new copy – several times in a row – and now I have 4.

Here are a couple of pics of Bob; the second with wife Eileen Mager – whom I’ve had the honor to introduce when she was recognized as a “Master” in ISPI’s Master Series (1999) and I got to both introduce her to the assembled, and then publicly give her a plaque after her session.