![]() ![]() A week later, the executive who ran the department summoned him to his office: "Your boss no longer works here," he said. The Summer Olympics was coming to Atlanta, and the city was hiring logistics personnel. One day, Love was approached by a friend with a new opportunity. Working at a small publisher, Love learned to wear many hats and soon found himself in charge of the entire shipping department. Dre and Eazy-E, Love was selling tarot cards and books about spirituality. Instead of working sold-out concerts with Dr. Deciding that music wasn't his thing-at least at that point in his life-he veered from the bleeding edge of rap to the mellow world of New Age book publishing. But soon after the tour ended, Love quit the job that most kids his age would have killed for. That summer, he toured with N.W.A, learning the ins and outs of the music industry as he crisscrossed the country. Love didn't even think before he responded: "Sure, why not?" And just like that, he was working with one of the biggest groups in hip-hop. "We need some roadies for the upcoming tour. "I work for them," the man said, pointing to his VIP passes. "Ever heard of the group N.W.A?" the man asked. The two struck up a conversation, and Love mentioned that he was graduating soon and looking for work. Love gave him directions and the man thanked him. "Do you know how to get to the Atlanta University Center?" he asked Love. The man had about a dozen lanyards draped around his neck - VIP passes for some sort of event. One day he was aimlessly riding the MARTA when he spied a guy trying to decipher the subway map. During his final semester at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, he had no good job prospects or even unpaid internships. Love adapted to a life on the move as his father accepted positions at churches in North Carolina, Ohio and then Los Angeles. He grew up attending the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, where his father was a pastor. ![]() Born in 1969 in Birmingham, Ala., Love was the youngest of four siblings. ![]() But for Love, it was just another pivot in a lifetime of twists and turns. Love had no idea what he had gotten himself into - and that was exactly how he wanted it.įor many people, this would be a career-defining move. ![]() Diddy, Puffy and Diddy - and the job wasn't at a sleepy record label but at Bad Boy Entertainment, one of the most hard-charging entertainment groups in the business. "Sean" was Sean John Combs - also known at various points in his life as Puff Daddy, P. Except this time his boss wouldn't be some empty suit. I'll do it," Love said confidently.Īnd like that, as he had countless times in his life, Love reinvented himself. Now a guy he had met 30 minutes ago was telling him to upend his life and begin a new career in the entertainment industry. He could coast for the next few decades and retire a very wealthy man. After scratching and clawing his way up the corporate ladder, he had finally arrived in the C-suite. He was making a very good salary as global chief talent officer at Young & Rubicam, one of the largest advertising firms in the world. In the span of a second, Love considered the pros and cons of the new role. He wants to talk to you." The driver thrust a cellphone at Love, who took it hesitantly. Several years back, Love was on his way to Los Angeles International Airport when the driver turned to him and said: "I've got Sean on the line. Love Whelchel III, the head of human resources at Vera Wang, is the embodiment of the Agnostic Primitive. They are allergic to routine and challenge the notion that you must have a singular focus. They get bit by bugs and follow their whimsy. They fall in and out of love with their jobs. Agnostic primitives succeed and they fail, and they do it all over again. They shun specialization, adapt to happenstance and embrace uncertainty. They roam from position to position, field to field, rejecting the dogma of the day, guided by opportunity and curiosity. Just as religious agnostics don't believe in any specific creation theory, primitive agnostics don't believe in following any specific career path. One type of Primitive is the Agnostic Primitive. The connective tissue between the most successful experts and leaders at the tops of their respective fields is their ability to follow their primal instincts. I've spent years advising and interviewing "Primitives," from visionary startup founders to established CEOs, in industries as varied as sports to business to tech to medicine. ![]()
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