As the right-hand man for a hot-tempered entrepreneur, I had
thoroughly prepared for a crucial weekend meeting at his Wayzata home. As soon
as the meeting convened, he asked me to give copies of specific documents to the
other two people there—the writer of the investment newsletter we produced, and
the copywriter of our promotional material, who had flown into town expressly
for this important strategy session.
I had indeed brought those documents, but hadn’t thought it necessary to make copies for everyone else. Big mistake. Much screaming and swearing ensued. My two colleagues remained stone-faced and silent. I was ordered to return to our Robbinsdale office to make copies and gather even more documentation.
That was one long car ride—I felt humiliated and furious. Hoping to avoid another tirade, I lifted all the Pendaflex files out of my desk drawer and put them in the trunk so I’d have access to every last shred of information. The rest of the meeting went off without a hitch—except for him yelling at his wife because she hadn’t prepared dinner just the way he liked it.
I was only 26, with a young family to support. I took his abuse because I was afraid of losing a good paycheck. Still, within a year, I found the courage to quit and landed a much better, much calmer job. Looking back, I don’t regret working there at all. It made me stronger and taught me how to stand up for myself.
All of us can recall such moments of adversity. The prominent local leaders on the following pages have stories that differ tremendously, but the end result is the same—they emerged stronger, more confident, with a renewed sense of purpose. In retrospect, sometimes our worst days aren’t so terrible after all.
Jill Blashack Strahan
Founder and CEO, Tastefully Simple, an Alexandria-based direct sales company specializing in gourmet foods
Richard "Perk" Perkins
President and CEO, Perkins Capital Management, Wayzata
