Yes, My Name Is "Dick"
One of the toughest aspects of any job or client relationship is when one of the players above you gets changed. This is an inevitable thing. No person stays in a job forever - simple fact.
As a "supplier" or "vendor" the risk is very serious because they likely have their own "suppliers" and you can be gone in a heart-beat (and one of the reasons I try to not have too high a percentage of my business at one client). Worse, you could spend weeks or months knowing you're getting the boot while they pick your brain until it caves in - like the classic ride down the 20 foot razor-blade.
Well, this one major client of mine (where I have too many eggs) is an international company recently purchased by a South American company. They have brought in their own CIO who is young and energetic and South American. I have serious doubts about his commitment to MS Office development in his company (despite ten years of my pulling rabbits out of my hat for them using Excel, Access and SQL Server) as they are setting out to convert every technology world-wide to Oracle. Therefore it was with some trepidation that I looked forward to the requirement of arranging to get myself introduced to him.
When the day came it was in a casual intro by one of the Directors outside his office. When my name was mentioned, the CIO's response was startling. In hindsight though it was one that you might expect from someone learning English as a second language and enthusiastically getting to know North American cultural mores.
"Dick? Doesn't that mean something else in English?"
The Director (who I get along well with) and I both indicated with a hand what the alternate meaning of "Dick" is .....
"Oh!" he replied - " like Pepeda (sic)" (the exact word didn't register but I understood that he understood). Then he said "Oh that's for a little boy..."
I said that's like "Peepee".....
"Ah yes!" He said and we laughed...
End of conversation.
In a wierd, male-bonding way I had accomplished my goal - to get him to remember me in a positive way. I don't plan on encouraging this topic in future intros - believe me - but there is no doubt that it was successful that day.