That always stuck in my throat. To hear myself say it drove home the fact that this was a big, big change. Just as Mr. Ryan was nagged by the sensation he should have been doing something when the baseball season began, Mr. Skinner felt he was missing something at the end of the year, when he would have been getting final numbers to prepare for his report to the board and to stockholders. It was like the score of a ball game. Even to this day, I think about that.
Time is the big healer.
Messrs. Greenwald and Skinner say it helps to remember that it wasn't just their personal skills that quieted rooms they entered or had junior executives nodding in agreement all those years. It was the chair they sat in. When you're the head of a public company, the board and the shareholders are lending you their power. You have been given the privilege of leasing it. When you leave, the lease is up.