Alternate Paths

"Sliding Doors" is a movie about two different universes (or life paths) of a person who squeezes just in time through a subway door and the same person who misses the subway. How would your life be different if you changed one of your decisions completely today (something you control) or if a seemingly random circumstance (like a subway door) obstructed a path you intended to take?

We can all point to a "moment in time" that initiated a very long path in our lives. One of mine occurred when having lunch with Dave Luvison- Head Resident of Swing Hall working on his MBA at Miami - who had just finished an interview with the Managing Partner of the Administrative Services Division of Arthur Andersen - Cincinnati (Bob Wilson). Dave casually mentioned there were still open interview spots for the afternoon (a rarity given the competitive days of 1976 for employment).

I was "bending the system" by interviewing for full time jobs with the intention of asking for summer employment half way through the interview. When Bob Wilson discovered this (after a tiring day of interviewing) he rolled his eyes back and sighed. "We have no summer employment available - BUT he would be interested in talking to me again next year after I complete my Masters Degree".

That path started me into a summer job in 1976 at Arthur Andersen (yes, that meeting got Bob thinking about establishing summer internships in the Cincinnati office) and a great career path at Accenture.

If I had not had lunch with Dave Luvison that afternoon in 1976, and met Bob Wilson - what alternate path would I be on today?