The Rogue Gallery
Growth Through Adversarial Relationships… Part 3
This is the third of a four part series of lessons I’ve learned from adversarial relationships over the past two decades. Mentors and coaches can certainly be valuable, but nothing beats a rivalry or arch-nemesis for bringing out the best in you… and sometimes the worst.
In my previous installment, I talked of my time at the bank I’ve nicknamed Arkham Asylum. Arkham was a true rogue’s gallery, I had never met a more diverse and unique set of personalities before and have yet to meet one since. Through five long years, the cast of characters provided great stories and great lessons.
The Ivy League
Like most institutions, Arkham had its share of gangs. They were as diverse as the people and for the most part, fairly innocuous.
But one stood out from the others, first for the power they wielded and second for their influence over the culture of the company. The Ivy League was based around a handful of gentlemen who had been among the initial founders of the business unit. Prior to that, they had all consulted for the same company. They were an extremely tight-knitted clique and one that was difficult to break into, though not impossible.
The Ivy League influence over the culture actually forced a sense of rivalry. Knowingly or not, they created a distance among the department predicated on both an education bias and a rather elitist attitude that accompanied it. The Ivy League didn’t drink beer, go to sports bars, or enjoy much of pop culture in general. They did teach me a lot about creating a unifying culture in a diverse environment, sadly from their own missteps.
Mr T.
On my first day at Arkham, I met an individual who would become a friend and a rival almost immediately. It was a relationship that was likely more complicated than it needed to be and one that confused many of my co-workers. Many believed that Mr. T and I hated each other.
Now when you think of Mr T, don’t think Mohawk and gold chains. The image on the left is probably more appropriate.
We both had very competitive personalities and while this occasionally led to some spirited arguments, it most often took the form of general sarcasm, jibes, and “ball busting”. I would claim it was all good-natured, but as noted, far too many colleagues actually thought we disliked each other. I’d call it a Philly thing…
Mr.T and I had similar roles, though we approached them in very different ways with incredibly different styles. Our rivalry gave me a lot of perspective on approaching challenges from a differing point of view. He started early, worked hard, and built strong relationships with the executive team based on his work ethic and natural charisma. I rolled in late. Creativity, technology, and innovation were the cornerstones of my personal brand. It would have been hard to be any more different.
And The Rest
Over the years at Arkham, I would learn lessons from a cast of characters. Some like The Hawaiian, a man who would take a 90 minute nap in his cube each day-while making sun tea with cucumbers over his eyes, would not count as a true rivalry or arch-nemesis. Many others would…
The Chairman would teach me that not every executive wants to hear both sides of an argument. Captain Buzzword, The Coach, and The Pretty Boy taught me that many people manage to fake it quite successfully… at least for a while. The Baker, Columbus, and Girardo taught me that many others can’t.
I enjoyed my time at Arkham and the relationships I built. While I learned many great lessons from the gallery of rogues that worked there, the time came to again raise my game…
