Dash of Courage: Bet on the Underdog

I gave a keynote speech this week, and one unexpected story had the whole room laughing out loud. 

What I didn’t expect was how many people came up to me afterwards to share their own Underdog stories and the one person who gave them a chance. 

Here’s the story I told:
The 1^st time I left the country, I went to Hong Kong.

I had a backpack, Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, and a terrible plan: cold call every name on the list.

The first 20 didn’t pick up.
The next 20 hung up.
The rest listened politely before hanging up too.
I had to do something different. Forget the script. Tell the story.

The next number I called was Merrill Lynch. A woman answered and I said: “If you’ll give me 60 seconds, I promise this will be a call you’ll never forget for the rest of your life.”

She started laughing. I kept going.
“I didn’t go to Harvard, Princeton, or Yale, I went to the University of Georgia. You’ve probably never heard of it, but that’s ok because we’re already on the phone right now. All I’m asking is for one cup of coffee and a conversation to hear my story in person.”

She laughed again. And said Yes.

The coffee led to an interview…and a polite warning.
“We don’t hire from non-Ivy League schools, but there’s someone I think you should meet.
She set up an interview with a man named Brent Robinson.

When I met Brent, the first thing he said was...
Brent: You know we don’t hire non-Ivy League Students, right?
GG: Yes sir, I understand.
Brent: Good. Because I didn’t go to an Ivy League school either!

Jackpot! He went to the University of South Carolina.

We spent 10 minutes talking about finance and the next 50 minutes talking about SEC Football.
And I got the job.

Brent told me something I’ll never forget:
“Anyone can be smart. Few have the courage to be bold. Bet on the Underdog”

He did and it changed my life.
I wasn’t the smartest, but I was going to outwork everyone. Every day after work I bought a brand new $1 tie at the Hong Kong street market to wear to work the next day.

Every day Brent noticed.
He encouraged me.
He made me proud to work there.

Last year I flew back to Hong Kong just to thank my old boss. Brent had no idea I had written a book. He also had no idea he was in the book. Here’s what I wrote:

Dash of Courage
This next week, give someone their shot. Pay attention to the Underdog. Notice the $1 tie, the effort, the grit, the person that often gets overlooked. Because you never know how you may impact their life, or how they could impact yours. Even 23 years later.

Courage over Comfort,
Garrett