The board room was again crowded. The Chairman began. “Well, it has been a terrific year, especially considering the results of the prior two or three years. The company is healthier than it has been in a long time, our marketing is more assertive, our turnover is down, and our revenue is growing again. The stock price is high enough that we can even consider a midyear split.”

Golf applause from the board members.

Kathryn joined in. “I think the executive team deserves a lot of credit. The decisiveness and discipline of leadership here have been amazing.”

Kathryn and the rest of the board turned toward their CEO, who could barely keep from smiling as he replied: “Thank you. I appreciate your kind words, but I don’t deserve the credit. Certainly my team has been terrific. And the guidance of the board has been helpful.”

The Chairman smiled knowingly to acknowledge the modesty.

The CEO then seemed to remember someone. “And ironically, I received some pretty good advice from an unlikely person.”

The room was silent with curiosity.

The Chairman asked, “Who was that?”

“Andrew O’Brien,” the CEO responded. The board members were surprised.

The Chairman spoke. “Andrew? How is he? I haven’t talked to him since his last board meeting.”

“You know, he seemed fine. But we didn’t really talk about him.”

Kathryn asked, “Where did you see him?”

“That’s the funny thing,” the CEO remarked with a smile. “I ran into him one night on a BART train.”