“If you don’t see I can do the job, fire me in 6 months.”

I didn’t know the difference between burgers & balance sheets when I walked into Canadian Pacific in 1972 to find a job.

I did know, however, that after three degrees in electrical engineering I didn’t want to do engineering anymore.

HR told me to go see Harvey Romoff, who was head of “Corporate Development and Investments.” I had no clue what it meant at the time, but I met with Harvey to see if I could join Corporate Development. With an engineering background and no finance knowledge, Harvey suggested applying to the Engineering Department.

So I told Harvey, “If you don’t see I can do the job, fire me in 6 months.”

I quickly enrolled in night MBA classes at McGill

Sold my car to eliminate distractions

Worked nights and weekends on my MBA classes

And was soon working comfortably in the Corp Dev department at Canadian Pacific during a time of rapid expansion.

TAKEAWAY
Through my career I sought and I thrived on a challenge.

When you want something badly enough, you will find a way to make it work.

Now, we are all being tested in new and difficult ways, but we can rise to the challenge...and find a way to make it work.