Hail Cesar!

Outgoing GT hefe-in-chief Cesar Alvarez gets an exit interview by the Herald's Cindy Krischer Goodman here.

I liked this relatively probing question:

Q: Tell me about a big mistake and how you handled it.

Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Mr. Kotter!

I remember this from my law school interview days.

A: My biggest mistake is to care too much about my work and to work too hard. I am driven, and sometimes my desire for excellence and perfection can come at a cost and I can push too quickly and ruffle some feathers. I have to realize not everyone can live up to my high standards and accept that sometimes people around me will not have my skill set or share my desire to succeed at all costs.

Ok, that was my response.

Let's see how Cesar handled it:

A: I may have picked someone who was the wrong person to lead the office or practice. Then you have to deal with it because that person didn't live up to what you thought they could do. We have hired lawyers that didn't work out the same way. Overwhelmingly, we hired the right lawyers. But it is your willingness to say, we need to make a change.'' It's only a mistake if you see a set of facts that would occur in the future are not there and you ignore it. Your own unwillingness to face up to the situation is when it becomes a mistake.

Not bad, but -- surprise -- I think mine is better.