Chemistry and connection

Even though he’s a chemist by profession we often talk about marketing, branding, the buying public. Sometimes we get into colors and fonts. Maybe it’s because I’m not a chemist. He has talked to me about batch sizes and production capacity in general ways a couple of times. I’ll bet I could get a tour now that I think of it.

This last time I saw him I was having a very difficult day with the service advisors and their communications with me. There is no central dispatch for my time. There is a core of about six guys that direct my travel schedule. We could easily imagine another four or five people at least that might ask if I can get something or someone for them. Occasionally I have to say “No, get someone else. I’m already committed." I also have to keep in mind the space/time map. The morning driver is the one with the composite picture of the potential afternoon route. 

So, communication; sending and receiving, senders and receivers. Claudio and I talked about gaps and missed signals. He talked about his wife getting upset with him that he does not remember that she told him something. We talked about joint responsibility in effective communication. The sender needs to be clear that the message was received. The receiver needs to acknowledge receipt. Whether there is comprehension or agreement is another layer or step.

Although I have heard him say “You know, David, I think it’s more like …”, Claudio is very much a “Yes, and” communicator. Yes, and .. not necessarily in the improv comedy sense, but in finding the agreement that keeps the lines open and moving.

Claudio usually has some Christian radio or CD running in his car and we might have a chat about that. I’ve been working on this idea for a bit and wanted to run it by him. I can easily leap from the communication of sending and receiving to writers and readers.

That the Bible is actually a divinely inspired work depends on the level of inspiration of the reader. The Bible, all by itself … fill in the blank. Does it not take a reader? A Reader? An inspired Reader?

One can have the biggest body of water backed up by the dam, or the largest solar array imaginable but if it is not tied to the grid, and ported to your door … if you are not plugged in, it doesn’t matter. Senders and receivers. Writers and readers.

“Yes, and ...” he said, “I have something for you."

His company does not buy a lot of swag but he found a little stash and, knowing how much I like caps, brought me one as a present. And then, as we were stopping right outside the service door, he pulled a copy of my book Drive Time out of his satchel and asked for my autograph. What a guy. That is so sweet.