Keep Walking Through Doors

The call came in on the Squids line. I happened to be in the truck in between Guild meetings, so I answered it before the crew could.

Someone needed a power washing quote for their home. It was a pretty routine, friendly call, that ended with me saying we’d get him a quote ASAP as well as our availability to perform the work.

I pulled over to write down his name and then save his number in my phone.

“Roger Duncan”. With his address and email.

A few minutes later, the same number called again.

“Hey Roger, this is Justin, something else on your mind?”

“Well, hello Justin. I’ve been doing a bit of research about you, and it appears you do other things besides power washing.”

I was in full on Squids sales mode, and I answered, “Well, yessir we do. We also do window cleaning, soft wash of certain materials, deck washing, etc. Is there something else you want us to quote?”

He laughed.

“No, I mean, besides Squids. I see you’re the Founder of a branding agency called Guild Collective. Is that a legitimate enterprise?”

Then I laughed.

“Oh, I see. Yessir, Guild is the way I feed my family, sir. And our team is most definitely legitimate in the branding space.”

I had a feeling I was about to learn more about “Roger”. Including that I’d spelled his name incorrectly on my chicken scratch note.

“Well, I’m Rodger Dean Duncan, and if you’re open to it, I’d like to meet with you to discuss a brand I’m building. I’ve reviewed your website, and your team, and I may need a little help.”

He’d done his homework. The kind of thoughtful, specific research that tells you you’re dealing with someone who has potency in his presence.

A week or two later, we did meet. First, just the two of us. Then we met again with the Guild team. And then, we led a positioning workshop, and framed up some ways for him to share the amazing things he’s up to, and the profound professional stories he has to tell.

Early on in those conversations I realized I was sitting across from one of the most humble, but accomplished people I’d met in a long time.

Former White House communication counsel. Advisor to cabinet officers and U.S. senators. Head of global communications at Campbell Soup. Consultant to companies like IBM, American Airlines, Hallmark, eBay.

Author of the award-winning Change-friendly Leadership. A guy who has rubbed shoulders with Stephen Covey, including an endorsement from Covey about his book, ““Brilliantly insightful and inspiring; profound, yet user-friendly; visionary, yet highly practical.”

A Forbes columnist who’s written more than 700 pieces. And, as it turns out, a fellow Kansas City guy who still moves through the world with curiosity and generosity.

I gifted him a copy of Give a Damn. He read it. Quickly. And liked it. Then, with a smile like he was keeping the best kind of secret, he offered to interview me for his Forbes column.

That piece went live yesterday:

Why ‘Give A Damn’ Might Be Leadership’s Most Underrated Skill

I’m proud of the piece. And grateful for access to his audience. But the real story isn’t the article. It’s the series of small doors that led to it. That led to Rodger.

A power washing inquiry. A second phone call. A few meetings. A book exchange. I knew something significant was taking shape, but I didn’t know the precise form.

That’s how most of the best things show up on the scene. Quietly, sideways, small, and without a roadmap for where they might lead.

Meeting Rodger has been one of the greatest, most surprising, gifts of my year. Not because of the Forbes byline, but because of the man himself. His depth, his generosity, his storytelling, his contagious laughter, and the way he still chooses to give a damn about other people’s work.

Life keeps handing us these small doors. Most of the time we don’t know what’s on the other side. Yet the invitation is to keep walking through them.

Sometimes, they lead to people like Rodger.