My mother told me that before I was born my favorite Uncle Mike wanted to name me “Lucky.” Looking back on things, he had it right. It’s interesting that my life has evolved in the same way I wrote my first book. While I always had goals in mind, I would describe the process as “iterative.” Once I got to one place I began to look for the next. I think of it as the same strategy I used when hiking in the Grand Canyon. If I looked up at the top of the trail, I couldn’t concentrate on each step and just might stumble and fall. By taking each step one at a time, I kept moving up and eventually reached my goal —maybe even a bit more, since I couldn’t really see the top of the trail from the bottom.

I was a kid from a Polish American family growing up in North Tonawanda, NY, and had a very happy childhood, but knew that I wouldn’t be staying there. Memories include walking through the snowdrifts to six o’clock mass, playing baseball, softball, basketball and sandlot football with friends, and, in the second grade, sleeping in the attic at Grandma’s house and hearing the trains that would come through town during the night. My parents sacrificed and sent me to the Catholic high school in Niagara Falls—where I commuted each day by bus.

When it was time for college, my dad again reached deep into his pockets (he was a factory worker) to contribute to my education. He and I split the costs and I took out government loans. I was the oldest of three brothers and can remember Dennis, the next in line, sneaking money from his paper route into my suitcase every time I would head back to school. Ironically, I sometimes wonder how I achieved the things I did…given that my childhood was remarkably devoid of major trauma and my family was so supportive. I so often read or hear about people who overcame major difficulties in their childhood and went on to great things. In my case, my entire family was terrific, and remains so.

I suppose that the most remarkable thing was that I never seemed to be satisfied with the status quo. Even now, I keep feeling the need to reach for more. It must be a personality quirk.

After four years at the University of Dayton, I spent two years in the Army. I often remark that those two years taught me more about managing people and achieving goals than my entire 30-year business career. The US Army has a terrific program that teaches young officers how to handle people and situations. Perhaps the need is greater on the battlefield, but the ability to apply the lessons learned to business and life gives a young man (and I would assume a young woman) a terrific head start. If I had to do it all over again, I would. After Officer Training School and Airborne, I went on to assignments as a speechwriter and then a General’s aide at Fort Benning, Georgia. After that, I was a Training Officer and Executive Officer at Fort Ord, California. At 23 years of age, managing a company of 300 recruits was challenging and rewarding. The kind of experience gained in that environment served me well in my business career, and continues to do so.

When I left the Army I joined Levi Strauss and Company in what was the beginning of a 30-year saga. I was just looking for a job, and had never even heard of the company. Call me lucky again. When I joined the company, it was a $200 million in sales business, and when I left in 1997, it had grown to $7.1 billion. They started me out in Albuquerque, NM and then Amarillo, Texas in quality control. About this time, I had enough perspective to know that inspecting pants was not in my long term career plans, and moved on to San Francisco where I became one of the company’s first product managers.

By now, the company was growing rapidly, and following some rapid promotions in the home office I got shipped out to the sales department (I couldn’t have planned my accidental career any better). After three very successful years in Washington, DC (during Watergate), I moved on to Toronto, Canada with my young wife. Three years later, we took our newborn son, Alex, and moved on to Sydney, Australia, where I was the Marketing Director and then General Manager of the Australian company. Two and one-half years and the birth of daughter Erica later, I was named VP of Womenswear, Europe, based in London.

Then it was back to the States where I rose to VP Marketing, International, where I was able to play a major role in turning the business around in something I dubbed the “Core Products Strategy.” Following that, I served in roles as VP, Marketing, US, then VP Marketing of Brittania, commuting between San Francisco and Seattle. Later, I was VP of Corporate Marketing, VP of Womenswear, and then led the Womenswear Division, where we again turned the business more profitable by focusing on our core strengths. In my final assignment, I led the acquisition of and then managed a small company that made custom-fit jeans, located in Boston. The constant travel and pressure of the corporate world had its consequences, though, as I also went through a divorce toward the end of my Levi’s career.

In 1998, I formed a consulting company, The Chriss Group, designed to help companies with business and marketing strategy. In a couple of cases, I left the consulting to manage companies, including a very troubled textile company in the Southeast, and an equally challenged small company in Silicon Valley, whose founders had parted ways. In between assignments I took time to write Guardian Angel.

Currently, I continue to manage The Chriss Group and contemplate writing another novel, if the muse strikes and I feel passionate enough about something to incite my writer’s creativity.

There are two quotes that I take great strength and direction from. One is attributed to Thoreau: “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live a life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common dreams.” I believe I am living proof of Thoreau’s wisdom. The other comes from Shakespeare: “To thine own self be true.” I try and I try, and hope to get there someday.

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