I hiked a 14er this morning with people I had met two days ago. Then Dennis sat me down at Denver International Airport, no lav, phone on the table, and we talked until I had to run for a 7:20 flight.
The mountain was Mt Bierstadt. The cardboard on the rocks said 14,065. I was in the grey Nike hoodie. Operators from Jason Amato’s Operations Mastery Lab were on the same summit. I am not naming every face on the trail. Dennis and Jason are the names I will put in public because the tapes already do.
Why the hike is the opposite of a cold LinkedIn ask
In a room of contractors, SDR reads as vendor. Jason inviting me on the 14er the next morning is the opposite. Dennis’s line on the airport tape: that does not sound like a salesperson. That sounds like a friend. When HVAC owners see you among people they already trust, the guard drops. Then they will hear the product.
What we bonded over
On the mountain it was entrepreneurial spirit and values. Retirement, for me, is when you stop sacrificing today for tomorrow. That is on my wall. Dennis retired at 25 by that definition of freedom, not by a yacht. I said I think I can get there too if the tastes are not extravagant.
The sister page is the full airport interview. This page is the hike.
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