My Run In with the Secret Service
In this time of shelter-in-place, I find I’m doing a lot of jobs I put on my Round 2 It list. ?? It doesn't stop me from a little distraction though.
Since retiring my consulting and auditing activity in 2019, I had a stack of notes large enough to be considered a fire hazard that needed clearing out. Unfortunately, I couldn’t just toss the lot in the re-cycle bin and check the box. Some notes contained information shared in confidence. Though the information was likely dated, I felt bound by my earlier pledge to dispose of it properly. So, a long day going down memory lane, shredding anything remotely private, recalling many really great people. and chuckling at some forgotten past mishaps.
A Forgotten Mishap
In spring of 2012, I had an audit of a small tech startup in Elizabethtown, PA. When I arrived at the entrance to the technology park the small company was in, I found the road blocked by several dark SUV’s. Two men straight out of central casting - dark suits, sunglasses, ear pods with coiled cords hanging from one ear approached my rental car and asked with all seriousness what my business was.
Turns out VP Joe Biden was to give a speech at the technology park, linked to Lehigh University, that morning about the importance of innovation to the growth of the American Economy. Only employees working at the site were allowed in.
My business didn’t rate a pass. And my questions about how long it would be, only seemed to harden their resolve to see me gone. When I asked if I might wait there at the entrance until the speech was complete, I witnessed first-hand the results of their people management training as the agent’s demeanor swiftly changed from engaging smile to stoned faced bouncer.
I spent the morning auditing the comings and goings at a very nice coffee shop in Elizabethtown. Several attempts to reach my contact at the company were unsuccessful. Finally, around noon, I connected with my contact, who was almost breathless with excitement. She got to meet the VP and shake his hand. After much apology and a delayed lunch, we stumbled through a perfunctory audit with a decidedly distracted core group. Everyone felt compelled to share their impression and enthusiasm with seeing and hearing the VP. I shared my slightly different impression of meeting the Secret Service.
All in all, we got through the audit, though I can’t say it was particularly helpful to the company. I recommended, and they agreed, the next audit be done earlier than scheduled due to the decreased time and attention accorded this one. The next audit was scheduled with another auditor who lived near by and I never returned.
Just another little mishap in a long career of them. Nothing as bad as the time I set the oven on fire at work or the time I got caught in a hurricane riding a bus in the mountains of the Philippines. ??