5/11/2006

What it takes to be a successful CEO


Today I had the opportunity to do environmental headshots of Linda Watson, CEO of Lynx Transportation. Lynx is the public transportation bus system for Greater Orlando. Linda has a tough job. Lynx is responsible for servicing a three-county area the size of the state of Deleware. Unfortunately they receive very little funding, which presents obvious challenges. Furthermore, their fleet of buses is 238 in number. When I heard that I thought, "wow, that's a lot of buses." Then they explained that smaller cities, like Charlotte, NC, have 600 buses.

What struck me the most about Linda during my time with her was her personality. Upon meeting me for the first time, she repeated my name and remembered it the rest of the day. We did some shots in her office and then we went outside. While we were outside she said hello to one of the janitors and called him by name. She stood for a minute and talked with one of the bus drivers. She waved to the security guards and told them good morning. All the while, maintaining her poise and disposition for the camera. When we went back inside she went up to another security guard and thanked him for his work on a recent project.

Having worked in a corporate environment for 7 years I've been blessed to meet lots of "important" people. And everytime I do I learn something new. Thanks, Linda.

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