Cut the Rugs

It takes deliberate choices to run a purpose-driven business

Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash

I walked toward the theater, the banging sounds of load-in greeting me long before I emerged into the stage light.

I scanned the space to assess how the set was coming together, taking note of the rugs on stage left and right with a squint. Then I made my way up the stairs to the center of the house.

I pushed down a chair bottom and took a seat. The person next to me watched the activity happening onstage intently.

I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could, she put up her hand and said, “I know. Cut the rugs.”

And I stood up to go and do exactly that.

I’d known from the first moment I heard her give a lecture that I wanted to work with her. She was the first person I'd met whose mind seemed to think about things the way mine did, or at least she seemed to speak the same language of specific choices rooted in a strong reason — and I found it exhilarating.

I later discovered that other people avoided working with her because, well, she was tough. B…