He stood me up
Have you had the experience of sitting in a restaurant or coffee shop and your date or business associate doesn’t show up? I had this happen a few months ago.
My meeting mate had a bit of a reputation for being a bit of a
flake – he operates at a frenetic pace. The kind of energy that you can tell is perhaps busy but not necessarily productive. We were due to meet for coffee and discuss strategy for a local organization where we both serve as Board members.
He never showed up – not only that, but I sent him an email, text message and left voice mail messages on both his cell phone and office lines. He never got in touch – no apology, no communication whatsoever.
Fast forward a few months to a Board workshop. After milling around networking and getting coffee I returned to my chair to see an apology note and a $25 gift certificate for coffee. I was cordial about it but still thought it was a low character move – a payoff of sorts for thoughtless behavior. 
Fast forward again to a chance meeting with my mentor and advisory board member Dave DeRoos of CityGate Associates. Dave is a character coach and we discussed the behavior of my coffee meet no-show. He said,"I imagine this guy has a car full of gift cards, that way he never needs to be responsible for his behavior." He also thought that perhaps I should have cut up the card…
Is every post on your site this good? Thanks for blogging.