Why We Love This Business

At the JCK Show Advisory Board dinner, I was chatting with Anna Martin, senior vice president of ABN-AMRO bank, and a lovely lady I’ve known for years. Our conversation wasn’t about business, it was about “the business.” I began to say “it either gets into your blood right away and you’re in it for life,” and Anna finished my sentence, “or it drives you crazy and you get out of it as soon as possible.” Call it passion, call it workaholism, call it craziness, call it an addiction to this industry—it’s just who we are. All of my industry friends have had the “don’t you people ever stop?” conversation with their spouses and partners, and all of us say the same thing: “And your point is?” We go on vacation and spend half the time looking at jewelry stores and chatting with the owners. Or the whole reason we’re there in the first place is because we’re visiting friends in the industry or industry pals recommended it as a great spot. If we’re all equally nuts, then we’re all perfectly normal to each other. I wouldn’t have it any other way, would you?