After hearing the comment, "He seems like such a fun, loving guy … I wonder what it we be like to just spend an afternoon with him," from a student, I decided to find out what it would really be like.
I awaited the arrival of President Wheelwright in the administrative building. He came into the foyer swiftly with a large smile on his face. Without skipping a step, he waved his arm and said to me, "Come on in."
We entered his office. It was very plush and filled with books, native artifacts, and art pieces. I looked over to see him already seated, leaning back on the hind legs of his chair, still smiling. He offered me a seat directly in front of him, no formal desk to separate our conversation.
I was just about to present my first question as I knew he was on a time schedule when he began a very casual, everyday conversation with me. I was a little hesitant at first, not quite knowing what to expect, but soon found myself conversing with him as I do with any of my friends. And yes, he was still smiling.
I learned a lot – not about President Wheelwright, but about Steve Wheelwright and his endeavors. "When I'm not here I read a lot. And I love activities," he said as he began to name off many activities he enjoys, such as hiking, swimming, skiing, and golfing, and those were just a few of them. "I definitely love to do activities with people, especially my grandkids. I don't want to do it by myself."
Once while on a family trip to Moab, Utah, the family set up ground rules about not having any technology aboard so that their time together could be more meaningful. All cell phones, iPods, and anything resembling technology was left with civilization. He related the story of his granddaughter taking a crash on her bike and ending upside down. As he laughed at the memory he added, "She was alright, no serious injuries."
The most interesting point of our afternoon was his answer to my question: what were your hopes and dreams when you were our age? Do you feel that you accomplished them?
He replied, "I used to have students ask me that question all the time when I was a professor at Harvard Business School. It was always very interesting because they always came to me with aspirations to be CEOs of large corporations or something similar to that."
Wheelwright then explained the three different types of goals we create in our lives. "The first is a goal of personal standards. This goal is built around excellence, honesty, and how consistent you will be with them in your life."
"The second goal consists of what you would like to look back on in your life and had accomplished, on a personal basis," President Wheelwright said. He stated that his priority was to be worthy to serve as a mission president and marry a woman worthy to be his wife in doing so. Wheelwright served as a mission president in London, England.
"The third goal is what you want to accomplish in the world's sense of success. I never had any in this category. Sure I wanted to be successful enough to support a family, but I never had the desire as my students did to be a CEO or hold any title."
As I continued my afternoon conversation with President Wheelwright, I couldn't help but think, "Wow, this guy is really something." His smile never left his face from the first moment I saw him, until the moment I left his office.