As a freelance consultant who’s had his share of (mis)adventures,
academically not shined when I was supposed to (but since made up for it), been
embroiled in a few controversies over the years, and not really had anything
resembling a traditional career path, I’m not afraid to admit that I do
sometimes doubt if I’m really as good as everyone says I am.
And that sense of self-doubt is probably quite useful in stopping
me getting complacent (or heaven forbid, even arrogant!), but it does lead me
to have some unusual reactions from time to time... specifically when some of
the sector leaders and ‘heavyweights’ make a direct beeline for me to find out
what I know or think about various issues, and I’ve realised it’s the same feeling
I had as a kid when I met Darth Vader after winning a competition in the local
paper: I’m a fan boy!
So, should I take the next step as a true fan-boy and share an
initial roll-call/apology to some of those sector leaders who’ve approached me
over the last year and I’ve found myself blustering my way through initial conversations
with them out of nerves/disbelief that they’d want to talk with me (but who’ve
none the less had the good grace not to allow it to get in the way of our
having what I hope were useful conversations)?
Comments, emails, tweets, please to see if you’d like to
know whose made me go (professionally) weak at the knees this year...!
(and that also goes for you 'sector heavyweights too' - you hopefully know who you are, and I know at lease one of you reads this blog... ;-)
