Thanks.
It's impossible to overstate the importance of Chris's role.
One of my keys to success over the years has been to listen to those who know more than I do, whether they're wonderful people or arrogant assholes. Learning is the key; liking the teacher is optional.
In this case, Chris Neumann is a truly down-to-earth professional. He's easy to talk to and his ideas are simple and do-able, especially because he puts things in the context of what's practical in the situation.
He was totally aware of the limitations I was facing, and though he pushed me a few times, he never condescended, made snide comments, or issued arrogant ultimatums. He simply gave me a path I could follow and provided a positive and supportive backdrop.
Now this is a
guy who's done 800 or so calibrations, including four in one day in NYC for clients who were more well-heeled than I. This is a
guy who's been around the globe and across the nation at the biggest shows with the biggest egos in the business setting up state of the art systems, including building entire rooms from scratch for thousands of people to visit. This is a
guy who lead the Synthesis® line to 15 US and 10 international systems sales
per month. This is a
guy who knows it's not about
one guy but about the team and the result for the end user. This is a
guy who will pull out a couple of his favorite videos and demonstrate them to you after the calibration like it was his own system and be so excited about it that you can't help but be even more excited yourself.
Finally, this is a
guy you can stand on the deck with and drink a beer (or two) and feel comfortable talking to about a lot of things--a
guy with a real family and a real life just like the rest of us.
So, here's to Chris and everything he did to make this amazing dream come true!