So imagine you re a newer guy at a company, fresh into management, and you get tapped by the company president to be the presenter at an industry event It s your first real chance to step out of the average Joe rank and file sales role and be seen as a leader, an innovator, and a person on the way up It s a Thursday night and after a long day of meetings and breakout sessions the tour bus is buzzing with industry facts and gossip as you re carted from time square to Battery park in New York City In my case I had been in the industry a little over 3 years and this was my first big public presentation I had been pitching and meeting quite successfully under the watchful eye of the company owner and had garnered a seemingly bright future I chatted calmly with a group of executives from my customers, but this night was as much social as anything , many of them had their spouses in tow We get on a boat destined for the dinner event on Ellis Island a historic location and a historic even was about to happen to my career