Dining with Della: Leslie Hayden at the Homer Street Café
July 18, 2016
How do you describe someone who has worked in 64 countries? I am not sure I could name that many countries. Impressive by any standards, especially when there are just over 200 countries in the world.
Leslie and I worked together in the 90s, when she ran the PR arm of PJS - part of Palmer Jarvis in Toronto. I remember interviewing her and thinking how much I could learn from her worldly ways. She had a blended mix of accents, an abundance of verve, and a creative flair that made her captivating.
We lost touch until a few years ago when social media connected us again. She was living in Sydney, Australia doing her communications work as well as a radio program while working on a major software business with her husband, among other things. We booked a phone call and easily filled some 90 minutes of catch up. A few months later, she surprised me with the news she was heading to Vancouver to live. So like Leslie.
They made the decision and left so quickly, she accidentally packed the clothes she had designated for charities.
Charismatic as ever, she blew into town reconnecting with old friends and building new relationships in her energizer bunny style.
We lunched at the Homer Street Café, a hip spot that feels like New York to both of us. Makes me chuckle as I recall the original Homer Street Cafe where you could get a plate of bacon and eggs for under $4. It was an old style diner when I worked up the street in the 80s. Today, you can have a baby kale, roasted zucchini, sheep feta, fried egg, breadcrumb starter for only $14.
What one bit of communication impacted your life?
It was immediately clear what impacted her life at the ripe old age of 12. In her youth she attended 23 schools, primarily in Europe. In many of those countries, she could not speak the language so English books were a hot commodity. With five girls in the family, books were handed down. It meant she was exposed to literature beyond her means. The book to impact her life was Ayn Rand's, The Fountainhead. She full embraced the concept of not subscribing to mediocrity. She refuses to live a beige life. Feeling extremely rich in experiences versus material things, she has led a more than colourful life.
What did not work...
Leslie and her husband created a decision making app. It cost a bucket of money, years of development time and exhaustive energy. After this twosome spent big chunks of their careers helping people make decisions they thought the process could be improved. It was a solid app. Heck, Microsoft named them app of the month at one point. What did not work and what they failed to take into consideration was the ability for people to trust software. There was also a need to take the emotion out of the equation and that was not easy for many. They have recognized the difficulty of getting people who are ingrained in their habits to substantially change their processes. Maybe this app was better suited for the next generation of decision makers. So they stepped back, reassessed and focused on "collaborative alignment". While this is only one step in the decision making, it accelerates the process. Overall, they feel it is still an effective tool, knowing alignment can simplify and add clarity to any decision.
(Note from Della: Classic Leslie and David, no need to cry over spilled milk, just change it up and make it work.)
What if...
What advice would you give to your younger self to enhance your ability to communicate with others – and why?
Leslie struggled with this question as she has no regrets. She has lived in the moment and lived fully. Her father died at 46 and had been gravely ill. She learned young that bad things happen to good people so you have to life your life.
After thinking a bit more about this question, she said it might have been wise to pay more attention to money. Then, she quickly recanted saying you could still do what you want without money. She has been good with her client's money but it has never been her motivator.
(Note from Della: I expect Leslie could generate more money if she set her mind to it. As she said early in the interview, she has extreme wealth in other ways as you can see by the sidebar story below.)
Leslie always seems to get what she wants. At one point, she and David had to vacate their downtown rental condo, but only for two months. Desperate after an exhaustive search in our landlord driven marketplace, they came across a cat sitting opportunity - for two months! When Leslie called, the homeowner said they had received hundreds of calls and had basically made their decision. Leslie pleaded her way into a meeting. As only Leslie can. They made a quick stop at a sushi joint and stuffed David's pockets with the gooey fish. While chatting up the owner, Leslie asked if her husband could sit down as he needed the rest. Of course, the feline bait worked. Leslie quietly said her husband was the cat whisperer and the deal was signed. They do love cats and were the perfect sitters so in the end, everybody won. As she said, it was all strategy and defining the target audience. Was it the woman or the cat? Only Leslie.
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