Today’s title is, of course, the famous Woody Allen quote I refer to often. In today’s ever-changing business world, where e-mail, texts and tweets have taken the place of face-to-face communication, I’m still a staunch believer in the value of “showing up” – of starting and maintaining personal relationships with my clients.
There was a great article in Saturday’s Washington Post about Billy Hite, the former assistant head coach of the Virginia Tech football team. (No, not the Billy Hite who is the superintendant of schools in Prince George’s County, MD – though that Billy Hite is also a friend of mine, a great guy and a fellow VA Tech football alum.) Billy was known for many years as one of the best recruiters in the Mid-Atlantic region. He accomplished this mainly by establishing long-term relationships with the high school coaches in the region. He had a reputation as someone who always showed up and visited all the schools in person, going above and beyond what most other coaches did.
I know this personally because my father David “Doonie” Waldron was the head football coach at St. John’s High School in Washington, D.C., one of the top football programs in the area at the time. Billy regularly got the top players from St. John’s. I once asked my dad why this was the case. He said, “I like Billy a lot, but then I like most of the coaches. The thing that sets Billy apart is that he takes the time to come by and visit with me even in the years when I don’t have the top players.”
I’ll close today with one of my favorite Billy Hite stories. He was recruiting Darren Evans in Indianapolis, one of the top running back recruits in the country. Darren’s high school coach rode with Billy to meet with Darren and gave him directions. When they arrived at a hospital, Billy was confused. He soon found out that Darren and his family were there with Darren’s girlfriend and future wife, who was in labor with their son. Billy later described the scene: “Here she is laying in the bed, in labor, and I’m having a home visit about Virginia Tech with both sides of the family.”[1] Although Darren was recruited by many other top football programs he ended up signing with Virginia Tech and going on to have a great career there. I’m sure that Billy taking the time to meet with Darren and his girlfriend during one of the most important moments of their lives had a lot to do with that decision.
Click below for two Post articles featuring Billy Hite, a man who always shows up and makes a difference in people’s lives through developing lasting relationships. We could all learn a thing or two from him.
Have a great weekend,
Ro
[1] “For Virginia Tech’s Darren Evans, There’s More to Life than Football.” Mark Giannotto, The Washington Post. 9/24/2010.
Great post. Some good points you highlight in there.