One of my first jobs out of college was at small management consulting firm founded by an formerly very high level McKinsey guy. In a bigger firm, I wouldn't have had much contact with this person, but since we were tiny, he would often be out in the field with the junior people.
One week I found myself with him in some faraway city. We were a bit lost (this was before smartphones) and late for our next appointment. He was frustrated about it because we couldn't get a cab to save our lives. As the minutes ticked by, he'd get more and more irritated, muttering to himself about losing the fucking clients, etc. You can imagine one of these master-of-the-universe types when they get indignant; it's just like the movies.
At some point in all the running around, he notices how he's acting and tries to summon some perspective on it all, get out of his frustration. "You know," he said, "when the plague comes, society's not gonna need management consultants, nor is anyone gonna miss us. We'll get to the meeting when we get to the meeting; no one's gonna die because we're not there."
From a guy who I'd only known as this very hard-charging white collar business guru, a guy who fell out of a Tom Wolfe novel, this was unexpected and funny to young, naive, impressionable me. I got the impression that while he may not have completely rid himself of being annoyed at being late, he was also sincere. I think about this moment a few times a year, actually, something I wouldn't have predicted.
Looking back on it, I'm pretty sure that at the highest levels, these people know that they're not giving civilization all that much, and that this is never very far from their minds.
One week I found myself with him in some faraway city. We were a bit lost (this was before smartphones) and late for our next appointment. He was frustrated about it because we couldn't get a cab to save our lives. As the minutes ticked by, he'd get more and more irritated, muttering to himself about losing the fucking clients, etc. You can imagine one of these master-of-the-universe types when they get indignant; it's just like the movies.
At some point in all the running around, he notices how he's acting and tries to summon some perspective on it all, get out of his frustration. "You know," he said, "when the plague comes, society's not gonna need management consultants, nor is anyone gonna miss us. We'll get to the meeting when we get to the meeting; no one's gonna die because we're not there."
From a guy who I'd only known as this very hard-charging white collar business guru, a guy who fell out of a Tom Wolfe novel, this was unexpected and funny to young, naive, impressionable me. I got the impression that while he may not have completely rid himself of being annoyed at being late, he was also sincere. I think about this moment a few times a year, actually, something I wouldn't have predicted.
Looking back on it, I'm pretty sure that at the highest levels, these people know that they're not giving civilization all that much, and that this is never very far from their minds.