ABSTRACT
After sitting in silence for what seemed like an eternity, Chris finally stood up and faced Narvell. “Look Narv, I didn’t mean to make it worse. But I think maybe I did. It’s obvious that you have a lot to think about. After you’ve digested this some, please do what I suggested. Not just for you, but for me as well. I may be a bit selfish here, but if you can go through the exercise and list everything that you think makes Burdette who it is …. You know … how does Burdette measure success? How does Burdette run the business? If you can do that, I’ll complete the second half of the work and list what Housholder’s is. I want to do this for me as much as for you. Why? Because, as you used to say to me in college, ‘Here comes the jerk in Chris … always thinking about himself and no one else.’ Well you weren’t entirely wrong. But someday I’ll be the guy running Housholder. I want to be the best I can be. For a long time, I didn’t think I wanted to do this. But, since I’ve gotten to know so many people in our company over the past year, I realize that it is up to us, my granddad, my father, and even me, to make sure that all these really good people have jobs. I want to do it because it will give me a leg up when granddad goes through this same exercise with me. I’ll have to use life experience, not Housholder experience since I haven’t worked anywhere else. Please Narvell, if not for you, then for me.”
