“Role model, perhaps? I think that I'm not a young man—I know we're not going to talk about Frances' age, obviously, even though it's obvious, but to me, she's a marvel, and I say to myself ‘I'm just a neophyte compared to her—I turned 74 about two weeks ago—but I'm just a babe in the woods.’ And I think that her ability to continue to be productive—it's interesting how she still goes back to her roots too, with the Hesselbein situation at the University of Pittsburgh. I mean, when she goes back to her roots to start something, that initiative, which is very important. And I think that's what I marvel about her.
And you never, ever hear a complaint—ever. I mean, she could have an ailment; you'd never know it. And something that I've always tried to be the same way. Nobody wants to know, so why burden anybody with the issues of your health? And so, I just think that I happened to—we just finished a board meeting—and I looked at her agenda for the past year, and I say to myself—‘You're not busy, you just think you're busy. Take a look at Frances Hesselbein's schedule—THEN you'll know what busy is.’ And it's all very productive, too.”