Hallway Philosophy

“I love it when I have no business!  It means things can only get better.”  - Les Ellison

Hallway Philosophy

I happened upon Les Ellison walking down the hall of our office and greeted him.

“Hi Les.  How is business?”  I said with anticipation.

Yet, I could never have anticipated how he would respond.

“I love it when I have no business!”  Les responded with a genuine smile.

Then his grin widened as he saw the perplexed look contorting face in an instant.  So, he decided to help me out a little by continuing.

“It means things can only get better.”  He said as he wheeled around and headed into his office to get back to work.

I continued down the hall to my own office pondering his words.  In fact, I’ve been pondering them for many years since that day when Les opened my eyes with his profundity. These particular words of Les have combined with others, as we’ve worked together over the past sixteen years, and his hallway philosophy created a sage-like position for him in my life and work during that period.  He has an enormous capacity to see everything positively and to encourage others.  Such an attribute is a treasure in an industry where ninety-seven percent of all practitioners are no longer in business within their first five years.

This week, after working with Les for many years, we all celebrated his work, friendship and success during his retirement breakfast.  There were lots of people there.  Some from our office and company and others from other companies also came.  It was a true demonstration of respect and awe for what he has contributed to our lives over a long career.  We all came to show our esteem and hear from him one last time.

I say one last time, but for me, his words won’t end.  They’ll continue to last in my heart and mind for a long time.  I’ll always remember when he captured my attention for the first time, in the hallway, very early on as he said, “Most people don’t make it, but you’ll be one of ones who do.” 

I’ll also remember his final words of advice to everyone.  “This is an industry where you need to save your money.  Save when times are good.  Work hard.  Focus on a particular geography and always say good things about everyone, especially your competitors.” 

This is great philosophy for all everyone to live by.

Now Les is going to be living his life apart from our office.  I’ll still be walking down the hallway there.  But, unfortunately, I won’t be able to greet Les there anymore.  I won’t be able to ask him about his business, his family, or his hopes and dreams.  Still, I’ll be able to anticipate what he would have said to me as I feel the warmth of his memory and relish his hallway philosophy for the remainder of my days.