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The Power of Impact
Lawrence McGinnis, Erickson Board Member and husband of Erickson President, Marilyn Atkinson, remembers a coaching crisis they experienced in China. He’s still in awe of the miracles that their partner coach performed…
“In 2012, my wife, Marilyn, and I had been in Singapore, where Marilyn had finished teaching The Art & Science of Coaching™ for our partner there. We arrived at the airport, ready to take our afternoon flight to Beijing, only to discover that Marilyn’s visa for China had expired.”
Change of plans
“She was shocked. I was shocked. Clearly we would miss our flight and China program if she didn’t get a visa. We needed to go back to the Chinese embassy in Singapore as soon as possible to try to get a visa.”
“The first obstacle, with all of our luggage, was needing to take two cabs back to Singapore. Then came the exciting part, a huge storm broke and there was a great downpour of rain, accompanied by intense lightning flashes, crashing thunder, high winds, and limited visibility!”
“In spite of the storm, off we went, quickly losing sight of each other’s cabs in the frenzy. So there we were, speeding down a freeway in the downpour, in two different cabs, with lightning flashes all around us, loud thunder, not knowing where the other person was, and feeling totally lost. What next, Godzilla?”
“We eventually arrived at the right street, but now had to find the Embassy building. In the midst of the downpour, Marilyn bravely went looking for it. In the meantime, the cab driver I was with didn’t want to wait for Marilyn to come back from her search for the embassy, so I had to take the luggage out of his cab, and put it into Marilyn’s cab.
“I was wet, the luggage was getting wet (along with my new Bally shoes!), and when Marilyn finally found the embassy, she realized that she had arrived just as it closed. ‘So sorry, no visa today!’”
A miracle worker
“Desperate, we contacted our Singapore partner’s key coach, and she turned out to be a miracle worker. She hastily assured us that she knew what to do and told us to come back to the hotel.
“By the time we arrived, she had phoned around and used her connections to help us out. She not only assured us that we could get the visa by the next day, but she had also arranged for a flight to China the next day. A miracle worker!
“What a relief! An hour later, we were both checked back into the hotel, answering emails, and letting people know we would be getting to Beijing the following day. Not a worry in the world. Another day in the life of an Art & Science of Coaching™ facilitator!”
Lawrence McGinnis is an Erickson Board Member.
