I think the key process, having had businesses and having had a one-man show such as a restaurant and then up to 180 people now, is that you have to choose really solid leaders and people who can see your vision, who are pragmatic, and who can follow through with what you want and what your goals are.
With that experience of having been in the business for 35 years, you can bring that to the table, read a curriculum vitae of somebody, and create a picture of that person in your mind without having to have that person in front of you. It's the way the person writes, the way the person has expressed themselves, the reference letters, what points to look for, how long they have worked at that position, where they have worked, and what they have been. Those human resources skills come to you from being in the business for such a long time and creating your own team of advisers, CFOs, and CEOs.
I was able to apply that pragmatism to the Senate applications and to read those applications and say, “Okay, this person has done this for how long?”, and I was able to sift through some of the ones where I thought, “Okay, this is great, but it doesn't fit in perfectly,” or, “I think this fits in perfectly”. It was a narrowing down process from where we started, a process of elimination and of slowing saying this person doesn't fit or this person fits the bill properly.
That pragmatism comes just from being practical, by being in the business for so long, and by having run your own organizations. How would I want this person to be? I knew exactly what the position required and what a senator's position is supposed to be. I had done my homework on that. I was able to say, “Okay, if I were a senator, what would I want to be done, or what would I do?” I was able to see through those applications and say that this person fits the bill or does not fit the bill.
That comes just through experience, and it comes from being in the business for such a long time.