John Ricketts, the VP Sales at Amer was in attendence. His company is a premier manufacturer and distributor of IT Networking Hardware to educational institutions and other companies. I started off the talk by demonstrating how a good guy or amazing woman’s reputation can be enhanced by observing all 4 elements of a RHB. The 4th element of an RHB is giving back. I found out John coaches 10 yr old kids' hockey in Oakville, Ontario.

After the talk, John approached me with a great "3rd gear" story.  In his words: “My son Jack is a great hockey player who often assists on goals. One day after a game Jack came up to me and complained that he would often set up a teammate to score but this boy never high-fived him or expresses a lot of appreciation afterwards. I tried to let Jack know he should be passing the puck because it was the right thing to do, not for a thank-you.

But it never really clicked until Jack watched some old replays of Bobby Orr. He took me over to the TV and showed me how Orr reacted after scoring a goal. No showboating to the applause, no high-fiving his teammates; Orr would skate right over to the bench and put his head down. I told Jack that I’d heard that Bobby Orr was almost embarrassed at the applause. That made a big impression on my son as how to act on the ice.”

The true definition of a hero is someone in third gear. He/she often looks embarrassed when getting the “wave” (or the applause) because that's not why the did it. Bobby Orr scored goals because that was his job; it was the right thing to do.  A great reputation should be the result, not the focus, of your actions. Keep learning from good guys Jack, it will help you on the ice and in the boardroom.